Microsoft To Take Another Run At Yahoo In 2009?

Aug 4, 2008 at 12:08pm ET by Greg Sterling

If absurdist playwright Samuel Beckett were still alive, he might be tempted to write a drama about the Microsoft and Yahoo non-merger that seems to keep generating news and speculation. Better yet, maybe living playwright David Mamet will take a crack at some point.

The latest justification for writing yet another post about whether or not Microsoft will take another run at Yahoo is an eWeek piece in which Eric Jackson, who runs Ironfire Capital, a Yahoo investor, argues that Microsoft still needs Yahoo and predicts another acquisition attempt.

The larger article is actually more about how Yahoo has failed so far to execute on its new vision and renewal strategies and how the company still needs to make cuts and bring more focus to selected businesses and units:

“The company needs to make some fundamental changes if it’s going to improve its performance and stock price. Yahoo is too bloated right now; they need to reduce head count, focus on core businesses and divest some of their holdings that aren’t making any money,” Jackson told [the reporter] after the meeting. “But it’s only about the second inning [of the company comeback], although it’s been the second inning for a long time. There have been a lot of pitches and foul balls.”

What was one of the most dramatic and intriguing tech stories of the year — will Microsoft succeed in challenging Google with the acquisition of Yahoo? — has turned into a near parody of itself as it transforms into the story that refuses to go away.


Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land, and writes a personal blog Screenwerk, examining the broader world of media and advertising. He also posts at a Local Mobile Search, which is focused on the mobile Internet.

See more articles by Greg Sterling >

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