Microsoft Yahoo deal still alive
Microsoft and Yahoo senior executives met on Monday to continue talks on Microsoft’s multi-billion dollar takeover bid for their search rival, report Reuters.
The discussions were the first between the companies since the Yahoo board rejected an unsolicited offer of almost $45 billion in February.
According to anonymous sources close to the situation, the meeting was a discussion on the plans rather than formal negotiations, with no financial representatives present.
Instead, the meeting seems to have been a chance for Microsoft management to share their plans for a united company with the Yahoo executives, who are understood to have been concerned what Microsoft ownership would mean for Yahoo and its employees.
The talks indicate that, in principle at least, negotiations are very much ongoing and that Yahoo are still a big part of Microsoft’s future plans.
Although Microsoft has released statements to say that their offer is fair, there is a great deal of speculation that the Seattle company will eventually push through the takeover; by hostile means if necessary.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has made no secret of his desire to see the deal completed, seeing it as the only real option if they are to compete with Google.
“We still think the deal makes sense. We hope over time that becomes a reality.” said Ballmer.
If negotiations reach an impasse, one option would be a proxy fight to replace the existing Yahoo board, though this remains a last resort.
The general feeling amongst analysts though is that the deal is inevitable due to no other realistic bidders coming in for Yahoo. Other potential suitors such as News Corp. and AOL Time Warner have distanced themselves from the bidding.
Microsoft and Yahoo both declined to comment on the story.
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