Microhoo At One Week 1: Decision Nears? Yahoo Brand To Survive?

Has it only been a week since Microsoft thought it was a nice day for a Yahoo wedding? Indeed, so. And what’s happened since? Rumors that Yahoo is nearing a decision, while Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer seems to want to encourage his potential new employees that a Yahoo brand will survive. Let’s do the news. Yahoo […]

on February 8, 2008 at 7:35 am | Reading time: 5 minutes
News


Microsoft's Yahoo White Wedding

Has it only been a week since Microsoft thought it was a nice day for a
Yahoo wedding?
Indeed, so. And what’s happened since? Rumors that Yahoo is nearing a decision,
while Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer seems to want to encourage his potential new
employees that a Yahoo brand will survive. Let’s do the news.


Yahoo Board To Determine Fate Of Company Today from TechCrunch suggest today
is the day that Yahoo will make a decision:

Sources have indicated to us that Yahoo has scheduled a special board of
directors meeting on Friday to determine, effectively, the fate of the
company.

There’s been much speculation over the last week if anyone could save Yahoo
from Microsoft. Could Google jump in to buy Yahoo? Probably not because of
competition laws, but it does seem like a partnership with the company might be
the only real alternative. Below, stories over the past week on the idea of
Google as Yahoo’s savior, plus Google’s concerns that Microsoft might win
Yahoo’s hand:

How about others? Today’s big news in that department seems to be that
Softbank — which owns a big chunk of Yahoo Japan — which is a
money making
powerhouse — doesn’t plan to sell its stake to Microsoft but rather is
playing wait-and-see. TechCrunch sees that as a sign that Softbank won’t dive in
to fight Microsoft.

Softbank says Yahoo Japan holding will not be sold from the Financial Times
has more on that story.

Anyone? Anyone? News Corp has said no in stories we’ve previously covered, as
have other likely candidates. But here are some other stories from the past week
on that topic:

One biggest challenge to the deal may be if Microsoft’s shares drop. Since
the deal is tied to the share price,

Microsoft Bid for Yahoo Drops To $29.50 a Share from Silicon Alley Insider
noted that the initial value of the deal has already gone down. That could put
shareholders on both sides off.

Another challenge is that Yahoo employees are a proud lot with execs that
TechCrunch says will do anything to thwart a deal. I can certainly agree with
that. It’s interesting to hear this in

Will Yahoo! Feel the Love? from BusinessWeek:

Ballmer says: "Yahoo, the brand, will live."

In reality, Ballmer can’t say that at all. Microsoft was at pains
to tell us that no
specific decisions have been made — that they cannot be made until executives
from both companies meet (if the deal goes ahead) and mutually decide what makes
sense. Yahoo the brand might very well NOT live. Or it might live but certainly
not be a flagship brand — though if Microsoft were wise, they’d certainly keep
it a strong one.

The statement feels like a way for Ballmer to say to rebels in Yahoo not to
worry over being assimilated. For more on morale in both companies, see the
posts below:

As I’ve said, it’s been a week now. In addition to the stories above, here
are others we’ve covered in the special Microhoo section of our
SearchCap newsletter:

And in review, some key stories from us over the past week:

All these stories can also be found in our
Microhoo
section. And for more on today’s developments, see related discussion
on Techmeme.

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Danny Sullivan
Contributor
Danny Sullivan was a journalist and analyst who covered the digital and search marketing space from 1996 through 2017. He was also a cofounder of Third Door Media, which publishes Search Engine Land and MarTech, and produces the SMX: Search Marketing Expo and MarTech events. He retired from journalism and Third Door Media in June 2017. You can learn more about him on his personal site & blog He can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

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