Posted on May 6, 2008 at 2:58 PM
Filed under: Acquisitions | Corporate Strategy
Tagged: AOL , Google , Gordon Crawford , Jerry Yang , Microhoo , Microsoft , MySpace , Steve Ballmer , Sue Decker , Yahoo!

[ Share ]  [ E-mail ]  [ Leave a Comment ]

He's not known as someone who gives up without a fight, so when Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer raised the offer for Yahoo! Inc. from $44.6 billion to $47.5 billion then walked away from deal talks, many initially thought it was a negotiating tactic. But Silicon Alley Insider makes the case that Ballmer really has lost interest, because Microsoft shareholders and some employees opposed the deal.

Meanwhile, also faced with angry shareholders, Yahoo! CEO Jerry Yang and president Sue Decker said they are open to a deal. They also said some shareholders supported them in their $37 per share proposition. That doesn't add up for Yahoo!'s biggest shareholder, Gordon Crawford of Capital Research Global Investors, who wants to know which ones. Crawford says he and the shareholders he talked to would have sold at $34.

So what's next? Yang needs to prove his company is worth $50 billion. Whether he'll try to do this by creating an alliance with Google Inc., AOL LLC or MySpace isn't clear, but he should at least think of something good to say before the shareholder meeting on July 3. As for Ballmer, he can fund a lot of other acquisitions with that $46 billion. Whether they would add up to the Internet presence he so craves is another question. - Baz Hiralal

Gordon Crawford is "extremely angry"
Yahoo! in spin mode
Yahoo! shares take a bath
Ten takeaways from the failed negotiations

On Microhoo:
Hostility looms for Microsoft-Yahoo!
Yahoo! courts AOL, Microsoft gauges News Corp.
Microsoft and News Corp. vs. Yahoo! and AOL?
Microsoft betrays fear in cozying up with News Corp.
Microsoft, News Corp. 'plot Yahoo! bid'
See the post about Yahoo!-News Corp. and a MySpace JV
Rupert Murdoch, Yahoo!'s white squire?
Yahoo! inks ad deal with Google
Microsoft shuffles for integration, Yahoo! defends
Factors that could hinder a Microsoft-Yahoo! integration
Yahoo! open to Microsoft deal, just not at this price
Go to the Dealwatch on Yahoo!

More from the CD archives:

• Bewkes weighs AOL combo and Time Warner Cable spinoff
• News Corp.-Yahoo! would need a lot more private equity than Hulu did
• Yahoo! buys, partners, while dealing with Microsoft
• Microsoft's CFO and the Yahoo! bid
  
• HP-Compaq lessons for a Microsoft-Yahoo! integration
• How would Microsoft and Yahoo! integrate?
• Microsoft's Johnson talks Yahoo! Integration
• Yahoo! to reject Microsoft's $44.6B
• The case for Nokia buying Yahoo!
• Memo to MSFT: What about Yahoo! customers?

Join Corporate Dealmaker's LinkedIn forum

Also From Corporate Dealmaker

• Deal Economy 2010: Morgan Stanley's Smith Barney integration
• JDA waits out storm for i2 buy
• Deal Economy 2010: Cisco's Hooper on M&A strategy
• GlobalLogic adds seasoned dealmaker
• Dell drives in IT services as PC slump deepens

Corporate Dealmaker Home Page

From TheDeal.com

• Tesla ready to drive to public market?
• Deal Economy 2010: IBM's Mendoza on using i-bankers
• Deal Economy 2010: Morgan Stanley's Smith Barney integration
• Peet's raises ante for Diedrich
• Deal Economy 2010: Cisco's Hooper on M&A strategy

TheDeal.com Home

Post a comment

Name:

Email Address:

URL:

Remember personal info?

Comments: (you may use HTML tags for style)

Please only click "Post" once. It may take a few moments to process.