microsoft-yahoo merger

Yahoo and Microsoft making the rounds with old lovers?

A bit of deja vu is creeping into recent media reports of Microsoft whispering into the right ear of News Corp. and Time Warner's AOL about potential partnerships, while Yahoo is whispering in their left.

According to a Reuters report, Yahoo and Time Warner have been chatting for months about a potential deal involving Time Warner's AOL and Yahoo. The report, however, notes that the parties don't appear any closer to inking a deal than they were when Microsoft had a buyout bid on the table for the Internet search pioneer.

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal is … Read more

Yahoo shares jump on latest Microsoft report

Update at 10:40 a.m. PDT, with analyst report on potential break-up of Yahoo and updated stock performance

Yahoo shares shot up 6 percent in morning trading Wednesday, on word that Microsoft may seek partners to make another bid for the company's search business.

The stock price jumped 6.3 percent to $21.48 a share early Wednesday, just a day after Yahoo's shares fell below $20 to come very near the level where they were trading prior to the start of Microsoft's buyout bid in February.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, … Read more

The dirt on Microsoft's bid for Yahoo!

The Wall Street Journal has published a detailed account of Microsoft's talks with Yahoo!, and the reasons for the fall-out. One of the juicier bits is that Ballmer blamed the bankers involved for "screw[ing] everything up."

Perhaps. But reading through the wreckage, it seems much more likely that the gamesmanship on both sides ultimately resulted in both companies losing. Microsoft still lacks a compelling voice on the web, and Yahoo!...well, Yahoo! increasingly does, too.

"They believed that we needed them much more than they needed us," one person close to Microsoft says. "… Read more

Yahoo shares touching on pre-Microsoft level

Update at 3:26 p.m. PDT, with analysts comments

Yahoo shares fell below $20 on Tuesday, coming within a breath away from its previous trading level before Microsoft launched its failed buyout attempt five months ago.

Shares of Yahoo, which have been on a steep decline since the company announced on June 12 that Microsoft was no longer interested in buying the company and that a partial sale of its search business to the software giant did not make sense for Yahoo, dropped as much as 5.2 percent in intraday trading to $19.59 a share, before recovering … Read more

Yahoo unveils timeline of failed Microsoft talks

Updated at 3:54 p.m. PDT with comments from institutional investor advisory services analyst on Yahoo's investor presentation materials.

Yahoo published on Monday its version of the details of the failed merger talks with Microsoft, as the Internet pioneer heads toward the frontlines of its proxy battle with investor activist Carl Icahn.

Yahoo, which wants its current nine-member board to be re-elected at its annual shareholders meeting on August 1 and is up against Icahn's dissident directors slate, is hoping to woo investors in its direction with a presentation filed with Securities and Exchange Commission.

The presentation … Read more

Icahn aims for Yahoo fireworks before July 4

Update 1 p.m. PDT, with more information on the timing of Icahn's definitive proxy and alternatives.

Investor activist Carl Icahn is expected to file his definitive proxy by July 4, signaling whether he will ultimately run a dissident slate of directors to unseat a majority of Yahoo's nine board members, or look to oust just a few, according to sources familiar with the billionaire investor.

Icahn is gearing up to share another round on his "views about Yahoo and its management shortly," according to a posting on his Icahn Report blog Friday.

Icahn, who filed another preliminary proxy just the other day, … Read more

Gates predicts Yahoo deal unlikely

Update 10:32 a.m. PDT: Added more comments from Gates in his interview and a late morning trading price for Yahoo.

Microsoft's Bill Gates, in an NBC interview with Tom Brokaw, said a deal with Yahoo is unlikely, according to a CNBC report Friday.

Yahoo shares fell 2.81 percent to $20.77 in late morning trading, as the broader markets also slumped.

During his interview, Gates said "I don't think that one is likely," in reference to a Microsoft-Yahoo deal. He added, however, that he believes Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will find "plenty … Read more

Icahn battles for Yahoo's gold

Proxy fights often leave shareholders feeling black and blue, but when it comes to the battle of Carl Icahn and Jerry Yang, it's a case of gold vs. white.

Icahn on Thursday filed his preliminary proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, outlining the backgrounds of his proposed director slate and encouraging shareholders to use his gold ballots to vote in the upcoming shareholder meeting. Yahoo sent a letter yesterday urging shareholders to vote for its proposed slate on its white ballots.

In his proxy, which was well timed to coincide with Yahoo's reorganization, Icahn outlines some … Read more

Report: Microsoft might get more Yahoo for less

As a variety of forces swirl to push Yahoo and Microsoft back into each other's arms, some Yahoo shareholders are reportedly pushing for a deal that would see Microsoft acquire Yahoo's search business along with a larger stake, while paying less for Microsoft's shares than was previously offered.

According to a report by All Things D's Kara Swisher, some Yahoo shareholders have floated a proposal that Microsoft acquire a third or more of the company at somewhere between $30 and $32 a share.

As part of the search deal that Yahoo rejected, Microsoft offered to pay $… Read more

Yahoo preps for investor road show--as Microsoft talks percolate

Yahoo is gearing up to hit the road with its investor presentation and it wants to set the record straight, said one source close to the situation.

The Internet company did have substantial negotiations with Microsoft over the software giant's proposal for a partial deal, before the talks broke off several weeks ago, said the source, noting that a characterization by one of the company's investors was incorrect.

"Yahoo did negotiate over the terms...They negotiated over the TAC rate, and Microsoft responded by making improvements to their proposal," said the source, in contrast with earlier … Read more