Microsoft to Yahoo!: it's all over now

Stephen Withers
Friday, 13 June 2008 03:30

IT Industry - Listed Tech

The Microsoft-Yahoo! acquisition saga may be all over apart from the washing up, but Microsoft may still try to get its hands on Yahoo's search business.

On Microsoft's side, officials have stated yet again that the company is no longer interested in acquiring Yahoo!, even at a price it had previously indicated it was prepared to pay.

That goes a step further than last month's position, which was that Microsoft "reserves the right to reconsider that alternative [a new bid] depending on future developments and discussions that may take place with Yahoo!"

Those discussions have concluded, and it's hard to see how Microsoft could be any more emphatic. "As stated on May 3rd and reiterated on May 18th Microsoft was not interested in rebidding for all of Yahoo!", Microsoft officials said.

As for the idea of buying just the search business, Microsoft's position is that "Our alternative transaction remains available for discussion" but Yahoo!'s board has knocked that on the head as well.

"Yahoo!'s Board of Directors has determined, after careful evaluation, that such a transaction would not be consistent with the company's view of the converging search and display marketplaces, would leave the company without an independent search business that it views as critical to its strategic future and would not be in the best interests of Yahoo! stockholders," Yahoo! officials said.

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