Microsoft’s Not Bluffing
Look, it might be the biggest poker bluff in history and analysts are once again chattering that Yahoo’s (YHOO) ad-outsourcing deal with Google (GOOG) might force Microsoft (MSFT) back to make another offer for the Internet portal.
Sorry to be the skunk at Carl Icahn’s garden party, but BoomTown doesn’t think so.
Consider this from my post earlier today, from a source close to Microsoft’s thinking:
Microsoft sources say execs were stymied by Yahoo, which offered to sell the entire company to Microsoft up until three days ago.
But, as Yahoo has even said, Microsoft remained steadfast in its lack of interest in a bigger deal, after it walked away a month ago from its botched takeover attempt.
And it is still not interested, even with the pressure a Yahoo-Google partnership now presents.
“Yahoo might still dream of a big deal and hope they can win this game of chicken by doing this deal with Google,” said one person familiar with Microsoft’s thinking, about the possibility of Microsoft now making another offer. “But the big deal is done.”
Even if Yahoo’s stock declines even more precipitously? “It’s no longer a price issue with Microsoft,” said the source. “The company has moved on.”
So I queried a bunch of other Microsoft execs close to the dealmaking.
What if Icahn, the billionaire activist investor who is engaged in a proxy battle with Yahoo, somehow manages to get control of the company at its August board meeting?
No.
What if Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang is replaced and a new leader is more amenable to Microsoft?
Nope.
And, most of all, what if Yahoo shares sink to below $20 again and even lower?
No way.
Goodness, even I’d try to acquire Yahoo for under $20 a share, given all its amazing assets and huge traffic.
But, as far as I can tell, Microsoft seems sincere in its walk-away-Renee act for a lot of reasons.
The regulatory window has closed. The deal is tarnished. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates has never been a fan, and other execs are not either.
And most of all: Yahoos don’t want to be a satellite of Microsoft.
In fact, Rosie O’Donnell and Donald Trump get along better than this tech pair.
And for weekend fun, here’s a picture of that mismatched pair brought together via Disortrait:
Comments
hey, nice picture!
(i mean yours, of course… the Rosie-Trump mashup makes me a little nauseous.)
Yahoo is a compete & utter basketcase. really quite astonishing, how this has played out. srsly, you just can’t make this s#*t up.
Posted by dave mcclure at June 14th, 2008 at 5:12 pmHaha, I think you may want to double check with your MS insider now. MSFT just openly offered $35 for 15% of yahoo. It’s not even more than 24 hours since your posted. HAHA….. Feeling been fooled by your MS source or just your own little lie so that you can write something????
Posted by Siu Won at June 14th, 2008 at 5:39 pmD:
Thanks! Click on the link and get even more nauseous as there are more!
Yes, kind of amazing. But not in the good way.
Posted by Kara Swisher at June 15th, 2008 at 12:40 amS:
I let your ill-informed comment stand (we don’t usually allow personal attacks in comments and yours is right on the line), as you clearly are not following along well and are in need of help on this complex story.
I was one of the first to write about that Microsoft offer to spend $8 billion on Yahoo shares (the $35 price) earlier in the day, as it was part of a larger offer to Yahoo related to search that it TURNED DOWN in favor of the Google deal.
See here:
http://kara.allthingsd.com/200.....or-search/
This piece came after that. MSFT is not keeping that offer in place now, obviously. Thus, NO OFFER of $35 a share for 15 percent of Yahoo.
Oops!
Now, please stop calling me a liar and I will not accuse you of not paying attention in class.
Posted by Kara Swisher at June 15th, 2008 at 12:46 am