Microsoft/Yahoo Merger to Take on Google? 183
Mz6 writes "One faction within Microsoft is promoting a bold strategy in the company's battle with Google:
Join forces with Yahoo. That would be a major departure for Microsoft, the software maker that is legendary for toiling on its own until it captures a new market. However, people familiar with the situation say that Microsoft has considered the idea of acquiring a stake in Yahoo, and that the two companies have discussed possible options over the course of the past year. Currently, talks of an equity stake in Yahoo don't appear to be active, given that Microsoft is focusing on a reorganization that it hopes will re-energize its effort to compete with Google. Two wild cards remain: Steve Ballmer, who has historically shunned large acquisitions, and Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang, whose support would be key to bringing the necessary Yahoo shareholders on board for a deal. Mr. Yang and others in Yahoo would be hard-pressed to sell to Microsoft, people close to the company say. However, people familiar with Microsoft say its top management remains open to a deal with Yahoo as pressure grows to perform better against Google. The increasing pressure on Microsoft -- not just from Google, but also from its own shareholders, as well as from advertisers that want an alternative to Google -- could help to justify the acquisition or some kind of business collaboration, these people say."
Well... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Well... (Score:3, Funny)
Yeah, Yahoo certainly has the right stuff [washingtonpost.com]!
Re:Well... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Well... (Score:2, Funny)
They could give up twice as many dissidents to Chairman Hu and China's Department of Public Security.
Another plus in the Global War on Terror!!
Re:Well... (Score:2)
Re:Well... (Score:2)
Re:Well... (Score:2)
Re:Well... (Score:2)
Re:Well... (Score:2)
What does that make them??
No mention of a merger in the article text. (Score:5, Informative)
Here is the article, so you don't have to sit through the silly flash into:
A Microsoft, Yahoo Tie-Up?
MSN Veterans Want a Pact
To Bolster Web-Search Ads
And Better Challenge Google
By ROBERT A. GUTH and KEVIN J. DELANEY
May 3, 2006; Page C1
One faction within Microsoft Corp. is promoting a bold strategy in the company's battle with Google Inc: Join forces with Yahoo Inc.
That would be a major departure for Microsoft, the software maker that is legendary for toiling on its own until it captures a new market. However, people familiar with the situation say that Microsoft has considered the idea of acquiring a stake in Yahoo, and that the two companies have discussed possible options over the course of the past year.
Currently, talks of an equity stake in Yahoo don't appear to be active, given that Microsoft is focusing on a reorganization that it hopes will re-energize its effort to compete with Google, the fast-growing provider of search services and advertising.
Two wild cards remain: Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer, who has historically shunned large acquisitions, and Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang, whose support would be key to bringing the necessary Yahoo shareholders on board for a deal. Mr. Yang and others in Yahoo would be hard-pressed to sell to Microsoft, people close to the company say.
However, people familiar with Microsoft say its top management remains open to a deal with Yahoo as pressure grows to perform better against Google.
The increasing pressure on Microsoft -- not just from Google, but also from its own shareholders, as well as from advertisers that want an alternative to Google -- could help to justify the acquisition or some kind of business collaboration, these people say.
Since 2004, Microsoft has invested heavily to better compete with Google but it has yet to boost its share of search or online advertising. At the same time, Google has released products that some industry experts say could over time eat into Microsoft's core software businesses.
Microsoft executives say that they are investing for the long haul, and that the online-search market is still nascent and has much room for growth. A Microsoft spokesman declined to comment. A Yahoo spokeswoman declined to comment, saying the company doesn't discuss "rumors and speculation."
In one sign that Microsoft may be serious about major acquisitions, it has hired search-industry executive Steve Berkowitz to head MSN, the Internet unit that is building the Web-search business and is leading Microsoft's charge against Google, including Web search. Mr. Berkowitz, the former chief executive of search site Ask.com, is viewed as a likely deal maker at MSN, having completed more than 40 acquisitions in his career, according to a person close to the matter. He starts May 8. Mr. Berkowitz couldn't be reached for comment.
Microsoft's recent quarterly results provided a picture of the pressure it faces from Google. On Thursday, Microsoft said the MSN unit fell into the red and its revenue declined. Those numbers show it is failing to capture the same online-advertising tail wind that is helping Google. By contrast, Google's first-quarter net income rose 60% from a year earlier to $592 million. U.S. online advertising generally rose 30% to $12.5 billion last year, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau trade group and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Microsoft executives also said they will need to boost investments in online businesses in the next fiscal year to levels far higher than Wall Street had expected. That prompted an 11% selloff of Microsoft shares Friday. The stock has ticked lower this week. In 4 p.m. Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading, shares fell 1.2% to $24.01, after hitting a 52-week low during the day of $23.90.
At its core, the clash between Microsoft and Google centers on Microsoft's attempt to build up its We
Re:No mention of a merger in the article text. (Score:3, Informative)
Isn't Yahoo! associated with Google ? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Isn't Yahoo! associated with Google ? (Score:2)
Re:Isn't Yahoo! associated with Google ? (Score:5, Informative)
Yahoo used Google results for its searches between October 2002 & Feb 2004. They have used their own search engine (acquired with their purchase of Inktomi in 2003) ever since.
Read all about it at Search Engine Watch [searchenginewatch.com]
There's definitely a difference for some searches (and both are superior in my experience to MS's offering)
Re:Isn't Yahoo! associated with Google ? (Score:2)
Re:Isn't Yahoo! associated with Google ? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Isn't Yahoo! associated with Google ? (Score:2)
Why it pays to make wild guesses (Score:3, Interesting)
The clever veteran always took an extreme position, either that there would be a crash or that there would be a spectacular runup.
He figured that nobody would remember a middle-of-the-road forecast but that if the market did crash (or zoom up) he'd get credit for being brilliant.
It's a Trick!!! (Score:5, Funny)
Farewell, Yahoo! a flight of angels sing thee to thy rest!
Why modded funny? (Score:2)
Re:It's a Trick!!! (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:It's a Trick!!! (Score:2, Insightful)
Google isn't just a search engine. Ever heard of Google local? Google maps? GMail? Google Desktop Search? Ad$en$e?
And microsoft also offers most of these things (Google search -> MSN; GMail -> hotmail; GDS -> MSN Desktop Search; Google maps -> Virtual Earth/Terraserver; and Microsoft's working on a advertizing program ala adsense IIRC...
Even if google doesn't make OS'
Re:It's a Trick!!! (Score:2)
Well, guess I need to get out more often...I didn't know MS even HAD a search tool...not what I think of them for...
I mean, google, google maps and much of the other stuff you mentioned are all just bascially search tools. Free to use. And what is the competition with webmail? Webmail is just something you use to register with on websites so as not to get your real email addresses spammed...
I guess I just don't see the c
Re:It's a Trick!!! (Score:2)
Like all infastructure, market places are exceedingly valuable businesses.
Because Microsoft understands this they guard against all threats to their marketplace vigilantly. When Netscape proposed to replace them they essentially did eve
Re:It's a Trick!!! (Score:2)
Google = Dead Engine Walking (Score:2, Interesting)
Just about every Internet veteran company has now recognized Google for the threat it is and has declared an all out war against them. Basically, it's Google against everyone. In such cases, everyone usually wins. Unfortunately for Google, they should expect many more actions like IE7 having a default search bar just like FireFox, only defaulting to point
Re:Google = Dead Engine Walking (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Google = Dead Engine Walking (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Google = Dead Engine Walking (Score:2)
Re:Google = Dead Engine Walking (Score:2)
Re:Google = Dead Engine Walking (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Google = Dead Engine Walking (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Google = Dead Engine Walking (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Google = Dead Engine Walking (Score:2)
Re:Google = Dead Engine Walking (Score:2)
I wouldn't underestimate the power of the little guys.
Re:Google = Dead Engine Walking (Score:2)
"Google" is no longer about technoligy it has become a brand name.
A good brand name is an incredibly valuable thing. People pay 10* the cost
for a pair of running shoes because it has a "Nike" logo, Detroit can
produce a car just as good a Mercedes but it must sell them at half the price.
Along with Apple and Amazon google is one of the few hi tech companies
to make the transition to "trusted brand name".
Microsoft is a recognised "brand" but n
Re:Google = Dead Engine Walking (Score:2)
Everything is temporary, but Google has a brand name that is pretty strong with the world.
Compare Google to yahoo. Yahoo did not start as a "search engine" but rather as a directory or organization kind of thing. I've never found Yahoo as any kind of value to me personally, but like Google now, they are a hell of a brand name, and they have good enough real
Re:Google = Dead Engine Walking (Score:2)
Truely uniq
Re:Google = Dead Engine Walking (Score:2)
"Everybody usually wins" huh? Well, everybody is fighting MS and they're still turning profits in the billions a year. Sure, it doesn't HAVE to last forever, but just because everybody sets their sights on the top player doesn't mean the top player is screwed. In fact, in business, many times lower companies are trying to achieve market dominance.
Congratulations, you just observed the basic motivational drive behind businesses try
not to be a prick, but... (Score:3, Interesting)
New Name (Score:5, Funny)
Re:New Name (Score:2, Funny)
Re:New Name (Score:4, Funny)
Re:New Name (Score:2, Funny)
Yahoo will loose.. (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Yahoo will loose.. (Score:2)
Re:Yahoo will loose.. (Score:2)
Huh? (Score:2)
I would have said that Microsoft is legendary for letting the market become somewhat stable, and then buying the best product therein. Visio, Groove, (OK, maybe not SQL Server). Did MS actually make PowerPoint from scratch?
Re:Huh? (Score:2)
Draw your own conclusions.
Re:Huh? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Huh? (Score:2)
Re:Huh? (Score:2)
If you abuse it in a sufficiently brutal way, it can do OK work within certain bounds.
MS-Access and VBA form a sort of Fachidiot Duo that can actually be quasi-helpful.
You need to rephrase that statement (Score:2)
One of my favorite qoutes (Score:5, Insightful)
"The lamb may lay down with the lion, but the lamb won't get much sleep at nights".
Considering MSs history of screwing its partners, Yahoo would be insane to 'partner' with MS.
Ballmer hears a Yahoo (Score:5, Funny)
I can't see this happening, precisely for this reason. Ballmer's ego wouldn't let him co-exist with Yahoo and Yang wouldn't be caught dead letting Ballmer in the building. Eventually it comes down to which one would flinch in a staring contest, but I suspect they'd both go blind before agreeing to work with the other.
What planet is the summary from? (Score:5, Insightful)
That would be a major departure for Microsoft, the software maker that is legendary for toiling on its own until it captures a new market.
Huh? This is just plain not true.
--MarkusQ
Re:What planet is the summary from? (Score:2, Interesting)
Hell, the company was founded on the idea of ripping off other people's work.
Re:What planet is the summary from? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:What planet is the summary from? (Score:2, Informative)
Hmmm, I'll take a stab at that: IDEs (Visual Studio is the standard - there is not even a close second), Office (ditto, the "competitors are so far in the rearview mirror it isn't funny), Browsers (85% market share - yah, I know, monopoly), Small Database Servers (>50% market share), Smartphones (leading and getting stronger), Handhelds (remember Palm?), XBOX (ok,
You're confusing presence with profit (Score:2)
They are, as you mention, present in many markets. But that doesn't mean they are making money (and it's kind of silly to say you "captured" a market if it costs you more to be there than you're making).
XBox, for example, just had it's first ever profitable quarter [theinquirer.net], but has a long way to go before it even pays back the money they invested in it, let alone give them a decend ROI. And (from the last time I looked through their annual report) I believe that to be the case for most of the other "successes"
Antitrust concerns? (Score:3, Insightful)
Then there's the problem that MS has traditionally managed to fsck up most companies they've partnered with, so why would Yahoo willingly get themselves into that situation?
Microsoft always goes it alone? (Score:5, Informative)
Dunno if I buy that. See:
http://dondodge.typepad.com/the_next_big_thing/200 5/10/microsoft_will_.html [typepad.com]
"QDOS became MS-DOS, ForeThought became Powerpoint, SoftDesign became Microsoft Project, Vermeer became FrontPage, PlaceWare became Live Meeting, Vicinity became a key part of MapPoint, nCompass Labs became Content Management Server, Bungie Studios became Halo, HotMail, Visio, Great Plains, Groove Networks"
Or...n dows/story/0,10801,78739,00.html [computerworld.com]
m ar05/03-10GrooveQA.mspx [microsoft.com]
o soft-sybari.html [networkworld.com]
http://www.computerworld.com/softwaretopics/os/wi
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2005/
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2005/021405-micr
Re:Microsoft always goes it alone? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Microsoft always goes it alone? (Score:2)
Re:Microsoft always goes it alone? (Score:2)
Re:Microsoft always goes it alone? (Score:2)
Hehe, uuuh, what
That's some new form of language construct I'm not familiar with.
Re:Microsoft always goes it alone? (Score:2)
Re:Microsoft always goes it alone? (Score:2)
Face it, Bungie has become a one trick pony.
That's all that their Microsoft bosses are interested in them making.
I think the current post on penny arcade [penny-arcade.com] covers it pretty well. (That Infernal Industry)
Re:Microsoft always goes it alone? (Score:2)
Re:Microsoft always goes it alone? (Score:2)
Wow, I didn't realize all of that. I know many of the Software titles, but haven't or don't use them, but I had no clue that they acquired most all of their products like that.
To add onto the list there
I can't believe it! (Score:2)
It's not Cringley...
BEHOLD! There is a NEW troll of the internet, posting wild speculations and creating rumours! 'Ware, /.ers! He is on the loose, armed, and unknown!
Re:I can't believe it! (Score:2)
Sounds like a bad strategy (Score:2)
Hotmail all over again? (Score:2)
Google has become arrogant (Score:2, Insightful)
They have become more arrogant, bought their own lobbyists and, started growing by just buying a lot of smaller companies.
I think a little healthy competition will do good to Google, just like it will do good to Microsoft (remember: IE7 exist largely because of Firefox).
Re:Google has become arrogant (Score:2)
Everyone vs. Google? (Score:2)
that growing dichotomy (gotta use them beeg words)
When will pure search be 10% of googles business?
Is 'Everyone' nimble enough to catch all
of the cool stuff sneaking out of googlelabs?
Is google like the internet and will route around
any blockages like Microsoft or Yahoo?
We shall see...
wall street reply (Score:2, Insightful)
GOOG - no change
Re: (Score:2)
There goes Flickr! (Score:2)
Why not (Score:2)
I'd like them to compete instead, so all the companies have to keep trying to improve their products and people get to choose.
Toiling on it's own!? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Toiling on it's own!? (Score:2)
Re:Toiling on it's own!? (Score:2)
How to build a better search engine (Score:2)
odd visual (Score:2)
Slightly Offtopic -- How desparate is yahoo. (Score:2, Flamebait)
I was rather surpised to see the "Yahoo" toolbar appear on the IE browser
next time I fired it up.
I didnt ask for it, there were no "do you to install?" questions it just appeared. And it was a pig to get rid of.
It wasn't my PC and I felt guilty about leaving it in a polluted state,
and I have come to regard anything Yahoo as pollution.
Isnt there some sort of law against this kind of stuff?
Re:Slightly Offtopic -- How desparate is yahoo. (Score:2)
Darwin's Law. You'll probably not install anything Yahoo! offers every again, will you? So they're effectively killing their market off with tactics like that.
Why is it always "Big Company vs. Big Company"? (Score:2, Insightful)
Rules of Acquisition (Score:3, Funny)
#52: Never ask when you can take.
and
#218: Always know what you're buying.
Enjoy,
I use yahoo because its not M$ (Score:2)
If this is true. . . (Score:3, Insightful)
Prior to this, they used to leverage their OS monopoly, and bundle "free" tools that would enbrace and extend standards in order to capture marketshare in new markets.
Since they're not going to be able to do that any time in the near future (ie. Vista is delayed, and even when it does ship, it's not going to be widely adopted with any speed, due to hardware requirements, different operating paradigm, and evil DRM), they have to take a different approach.
I find that very interesting. I wonder if it's true - and is this a voluntary change in tactics, or a necessary change due to reduced monopoly power?
Something is missing (Score:2)
Batman and the Underpants Gnomes could join with Yahoo and MSN but if the technology doesn't offer an advantage over Google then they are all wasting their time.
ADD (Score:2)
Re:ADD (Score:2, Funny)
No, you've got it backwards! Microsoft would start offering shit for free, bundled with every copy of MS Windows!
Oh, wait.... They already do.
Hmmmm (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:developers! (Score:5, Funny)
Shareholders: No, Steve - "Merge With"
Ballmer: (Confused Expression) Er-ugh...
Shareholders: M-er-ge w-i-th
Ballmer: (Picks up chair - smiles)
Shareholders: No, Steve - M-eh-her-ge w-i-i-th-h.
Re:Microsoft/Yahoo Merger (Score:2)
Cold, hard cash. Also, monopoly abuse power.
</inciteful>
Re:Microsoft/Yahoo Merger (Score:2)
Re:Microsoft/Yahoo Merger (Score:2)