February 14th, 2008 by Lloyd Gofton
I’ve stayed off the subject for long enough. There have been a few times when I wanted to add my two penneth into the Yahoo! debate, and then thought better of it as there was always going to be so much more to come. But today is the day - you lucky, lucky people.
It’s been a busy week in the world of Yahoo!, and there’s bound to be more following the recent board meeting. Here’s a quick recap assuming everyone knows the Microsoft bid was rejected last week. Jerry Yang, co-founder and chief executive, has spoken of his feeling that Microsoft’s bid ’substantially’ undervalues the company. The News Corp share option, which has gained a load of coverage today but has been discussed for a few days, is looking more attractive if Yahoo! want to save face, or at least bump up the price. And all this after the Yahoo! workforce was trimmed by a 1000, undoubtedly in preparation for a sale. Oh and the purchase of Maven also went through to strengthen Yahoo!’s online advertising offering, focused specifically on video. And breathe…
So where does that leave the current state of play? Well on the sidelines we have Google and AOL, but they appear to be remaining quiet so for the moment it’s a straight shootout between Microsoft and News Corp. Who will the winner be? Well the one that wants it most. Sounds obvious, but Microsoft need Yahoo! in my opinion. It is already too far behind Google in delivering the web for consumers, so missing out on this purchase may be a step too far.
It also very much depends on whether Yahoo! want out or not, in which case News Corp is more attractive, but to be honest I don’t think this will ultimately be Yahoo!’s choice.
So when it’s all said and done, what will Yahoo! be? Unfortunately I think it will be a fond memory for some and part of a wider offering for the next generation.
Full details on the BBC, TechCrunch and NY Times
Tags: acquisition, maven, microsoft, news corp, yahoo
