Microsoft To Buy Yahoo! Yay or Nay?

[xboxrulz1405241485 0]

Ok, the news has been spreading since this morning when Microsoft announced that they will buy one of the largest search engine companies in the world, Yahoo! Inc. It has been speculating that they had a really close relationship due to the Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger integration. Now that Microsoft is forking over $44.6 BILLION USD in cash and stock, one may wonder ... what will Microsoft buy next? The whole Internet?

 

More on Ars Technica: http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

 

I'm totally against this takeover since I use some of Yahoo's services due to my ISP, since they have an agreement with Yahoo! to host all my emails and etc. This also means that if this goes through, all major Canadian ISP services are in the mercy of Microsoft since Bell already uses Microsoft services in the first place.

 

xboxrulz

[Feelay 0]

WoW.. 44.6 Billion is alot ;)I think it would be cool if microsoft bought Yahoo!. Because I don't use Yahoo! normally.. I don't know why, but I don't like it so much. But if microsoft buy it, maybe i'll start to use it

[xboxrulz1405241485 0]

It won't be that cool since that means Microsoft is going to be buying other services like Flickr and etc., thus shrinking competition and make this race even harder as an industry, causing an oligopoly.xboxrulz

[Feelay 0]

I don't exactly know what flickr is =/But maybe you are right =/ I ain't the best one to talk about theese stuff.. But if they bought all the internet services and stuff, or atleast some of them, wouldn't it be better. then we know who we can sue when they do something wrong

Edited February 1, 2008 by Feelay (see edit history)

[OpaQue 15]

I see Microsoft is aiming for more and more power. Its acting like those dumb students in class who try to catch up by copying ideas or buying them off. Taking over Yahoo may no doubt make Microsoft rich and gain more control, but there is nothing innovative I see other than connecting more people or giving same old services under one larger roof. It looks like they are losing their interest in Operating Systems. Hungry M$ needs to chill n relax.

[tansqrx 0]

The possible take over also has me concerned. I normally use Hotmail for my email but Yahoo! Messenger for instant messaging. I also have a large amount of time invested into Messenger so I would be slightly disappointed if it just went poof. If this does happen then it would be interesting to see which services win. Currently Yahoo! dominates in email and IM users but Microsoft has strongholds in other areas. I have a feeling that it would be gradual (5+ years) but all of the Yahoo! branded services would eventually disappear.That is if Yahoo! takes the bait. This has been going on for three years and it hasn’t happened yet.

[xboxrulz1405241485 0]

Innovation isn't even on Microsoft's list ... all they care is "search, buy, destroy."xboxrulz

[Sten 0]

I seriously hope they reconsider. They have their live search anyway.Channel 7 only bought Yahoo Australia a few years ago.I'd rather not see yahoo go down hill, can't they buy ask or dogpile or one of the search engines I don't use instead?

[FirefoxRocks 0]

I don't use Yahoo! much, I prefer Google and Windows Live services. Yahoo! is not that appealing to me because most of my friends do not use Yahoo! services.

Have you ever thought of how the MSN address is http://www.msn.com/de-de/, not just http://www.msn.com/en-ca?checklang=1? This is because they are in a partnership with Bell Sympatico, a Canadian company.

This is a pretty shocking thing because isn't Windows Live supposed to compete with Yahoo!?

Edited February 2, 2008 by FirefoxRocks (see edit history)

[xboxrulz1405241485 0]

ummm... only http://www.msn.com/en-ca?checklang=1 leads to http://www.msn.com/de-de/. MSN.com doesn't go there.

 

xboxrulz

[wutske 0]

I wouldn't like it if Microsoft would buy Yahoo. The main reason why I switched from Google (as search engine) to Yahoo is because they don't have such a big monopoly. Everything I did was google, google and yet again ... google, it almost felt like they were taking over the web

[Miles 0]

Microsft are buying out yahoo for the purpose of enlargening their already massive monopoly on many things, especially on the internet. Yahoo I have never really liked as a search engine and didn't use it, but it would be sad to see them lost to microsoft. But that's what big businesses do. Try and eliminate the competition, and if they can't, buy them out and pull code from the company they bought out's services, then dissolve anything to do with the bought-out company.

[dserban 0]

It looks like someone predicted this more than one year ago:

http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

By the same token, Google could buy MS if they wanted to. Microsoft has no debt, it's an asset. All Google needs to do is put up enough equity to arrange financing. That amount could vary greatly depending on the source of the funding and stock prices of both companies.
Ballmer has staked his reputation on this bid. By going hostile, Microsoft is attempting to shed its image as a stodgy old tech firm. They have a lot invested in getting this done.
Losing a nasty, protracted clash could not only humiliate Steve Ballmer but also let Google further cement its place as the unrivaled king of the internet.
At a minimum, losing the proxy fight would mean that Microsoft would have wasted valuable time, attention, and money. Worse, it could ensure that Google will face no "credible" rival for years to come, to use a term favored by Microsoft executives.
The stakes are high. With Steve Ballmer, as usual, this is not just business, it's personal. Losing the proxy fight would be a humiliating defeat for Ballmer, a repudiation of his argument that Microsoft's bid represents the best way to create value for Yahoo shareholders.
Now that Yahoo has turned down Microsoft's opening bid of $31 per share, and Microsoft is standing pat, for the moment, the two adversaries are locked in a game of billion-dollar chicken.
The logic behind a proxy war stems from Yahoo's poison-pill provision, which prevents a single shareholder from acquiring more than a 15 percent stake in the company. Because Microsoft can't simply buy the company outright, it must nominate a new slate of directors and convince Yahoo shareholders to vote them onto the board. The new board would then dismantle the poison pill, allowing the merger to take place.
In the event of a proxy fight, the odds are against Yahoo. Yahoo's board is not staggered, meaning that all directors face reelection every year, and directors need only win a plurality of votes.
Microsoft probably underestimates the challenge that it faces in trying to win over Yahoo shareholders. Proxy fights against management's recommendation are an uphill battle. Microsoft's own shareholders might object to a protracted and nasty fight.
And, of course, there is always a possibility that a white knight could emerge once the proxy fight is underway. Yahoo is in talks with News Corp., Google, and Time Warner's AOL.
Whether by raising its bid above $31 per share, or by taking the merger directly to Yahoo shareholders in the form of a proxy fight, Microsoft will probably prevail. But losing the fight would be a billion-dollar black eye for Microsoft.

Edited February 21, 2008 by dserban (see edit history)

[xboxrulz1405241485 0]

Microsft are buying out yahoo for the purpose of enlargening their already massive monopoly on many things, especially on the internet. Yahoo I have never really liked as a search engine and didn't use it, but it would be sad to see them lost to microsoft. But that's what big businesses do. Try and eliminate the competition, and if they can't, buy them out and pull code from the company they bought out's services, then dissolve anything to do with the bought-out company.

That's what this guy said and I quote him on my Facebook:

Name one thing they've ever invented on their own? Seriously, name one! If you think of any, send me an e-mail, and I'll research it to find out who they bought it from.... R&D [research and development]and M&A [mergers and acquisitions] are the same thing over there.

-- Scott McNealy's (Sun Microsystems) criticism of Microsoft
I have yet found one Microsoft invention. Even Windows can't be called an invention because elements were taken from Apple which took it from Xerox PARC.

xboxrulz

[skedad 0]

Yet another thing Microsoft is trying to eat up... I mean it is hard to find things that are free or cheap... sounds a bit weird, but I am not made of money. I try my best to try to keep up with my forums and it is not all that easy. I find Xisto incredible, not just because it is free, but it is a chance for me to be able to use my craft for my family and friends. A lot of users in the world depend on freeware, and when huge companies take them over, then usually it becomes subscription usage. If I wanted to put my money into what I do, I am able to do so... I am not dirt poor, but yet I understand the meaning of the dollar, and I also use my resources well. I am proud of the admins around here, because I am sure it is not all that easy to try to keep up with all of the free users here on the site, but I am happy and I try not to take advantage.So Microsoft is planning on buying everything up on the net... I am just hoping that the company uses it wisely, because it is a HUGE investment, because Yahoo is everywhere on the web.I guess we should just wait and see, and I guess I may have to put more time into Gmail, just in case.- skedad -