Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation is negotiating to rescue the embattled internet company Yahoo through an alliance that could set up a heavyweight business showdown between the Australian-born media mogul and Microsoft’s Bill Gates.News Corp has begun tentative talks about merging its online division, which includes the social networking site MySpace, with Yahoo to create a powerful combined presence on the internet.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/feb/14/newscorporation.yahooNews Corp ‘in secret Yahoo talks’
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation is reportedly in talks with Yahoo about a possible deal that would stave off an approach from Microsoft. The Wall Street Journal said that News Corp was eyeing a move that would see MySpace and other of Murdoch’s web interests merge with Yahoo.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7244178.stmYahoo seen in News Corp. talks, but analysts dubious [Reuters]
Despite possible strategic benefits to a Yahoo-News Corp. deal, alternatives to Microsoft bid won’t please shareholders, analysts say.Yahoo is in talks on a possible deal with News Corp., but analysts said an alternative was unlikely to emerge to rival Microsoft’s bid for Yahoo, now valued at $42.1 billion.News of the talks to combine their Web properties was first reported by the Silicon Alley Insider blog on Monday, which said one proposal would involve a cash infusion from Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. and an unnamed private equity fund.
http://www.news.com/2100-1030_3-6230534.htmlIs Yahoo Flirting With News Corp. to Make Microsoft Jealous?
Yahoo has held talks with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. about a partnership, merger or similar arrangement, according to reports. Such a deal would help fend off Microsoft’s unsolicited $44.6 billion bid to take over the portal and create an Internet force capable of rivaling Google. News Corp. would offer significant benefit to Yahoo, most notably in the form of the MySpace social networking site.
ecommercetimes.com/story/Is-Yahoo-Flirting-With-News-Corp-to-Make-Microsoft-Jealous-61677.htmlLittle Room for Yahoo to Maneuver
Can Yahoo avoid being gobbled up by Microsoft?Many analysts say it is increasingly unlikely.Since Microsoft first made public its buyout offer on Feb. 1, Yahoo has held talks with several potential partners, including Google, the News Corporation and Time Warner’s AOL unit, about an alternate deal that would keep Yahoo out of the hands of the software giant.While some of those conversations continue, no deal has emerged and a growing chorus of analysts and investors say it is improbable that anyone will come up with an offer that is more attractive to Yahoo shareholders than Microsoft’s, which was originally valued at $31 a share.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/14/technology/14yahoo.htmlYahoo Chief Explains Rejection of Microsoft Bid
Jerry Yang, the chief executive of Yahoo, explained his company’s rejection of Microsoft’s buyout offer in a letter to shareholders late Wednesday outlining why he believed the bid, initially valued at $44.6 billion, was too low.”We have a huge market opportunity — and are uniquely positioned to capitalize on it,” Mr. Yang wrote. “The global online advertising market is projected to grow from $45 billion in 2007 to $75 billion in 2010. And we are moving quickly to take advantage of what we see as a unique window of time in the growth — and evolution — of this market to build market share and to create value for stockholders.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/14/technology/14cnd-yahoo.htmlMicrosoft Vs. Google: Who’s Got More Antitrust Issues?
In the fall of 1997, I was interviewing Bill Gates at a conference in Scottsdale, Ariz. Suddenly the door to the boardroom we were using sprung open, and Bill Neukom, then Microsoft’s general counsel, rushed up to Gates and pulled him from the room.Five minutes later, Microsoft’s leader returned, and we finished the interview. I later learned what the urgency was about: A federal judge had ruled that Microsoft violated a consent decree concerning its anticompetitive behavior in promoting Windows. That interview was the last that Gates would ever grant without the cloud of government action hanging over him; that ruling was the first volley in a series of events that would shape the company’s psyche.
www.forbes.com/technology/2008/02/14/antitrust-microsoft-yahoo-tech-enter-cx_sl_0214antitrust.htmlOffice Killers
Microsoft’s all-out effort to acquire struggling Web portal Yahoo! isn’t about selling banner ads. Sure, short term, the Redmond software giant wants the Sunnyvale, Calif., Internet company so that it can finally get a grip on the booming online advertising business. Long term, however, Microsoft wants Yahoo! so that it doesn’t lose its hold on the far more lucrative market for desktop applications.
www.forbes.com/technology/2008/02/14/microsoft-yahoo-google-tech-intel-cx_bc_0214office.htmlYahoo! To Shareholders: Trust Us
In letter, CEO Jerry Yang says management has investors’ best interests in mind in rejecting Microsoft.
www.forbes.com/technology/2008/02/13/yahoo-shareholder-letter-tech-cx_wt_0213techyahoo.htmlAfter Rejection by Yahoo, Microsoft Hints at a Fight
The war of words between Yahoo and Microsoft has begun. Hours after Yahoo officially rejected Microsoft’s takeover offer on Monday, calling it too low, Microsoft described Yahoo’s response as “unfortunate” and said its own proposal was “full and fair.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/12/technology/12yahoo.html