“Yahoo takeover not goal” says Ballmer
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has played down the importance of the aborted Yahoo takeover, stressing that the buyout itself was not Microsoft’s aim.
In Moscow for a technology conference, Ballmer told his audience that acquiring Yahoo was just one option to achieve Microsoft’s greater goal of improved search market share.
“Yahoo was never the strategy we were pursuing, it was a way to accelerate our online advertising business,” said Ballmer, adding “We will spend money on some acquisitions. You can do a whole lot of things with $50 billion.”
Microsoft has had to re-evaluate its options after the Yahoo board’s rejection of its $47.5 billion offer, with speculation linking the company with several alternative investments, such as a possible $15 billion takeover of social networking site Facebook - in which Microsoft already owns a 1.6% stake.
Since walking away from the negotiating table, Ballmer has been quick to distance Microsoft from a Yahoo deal, saying that the company has “moved on”, though rumours suggest some kind of deal may still be on the cards.
As a cash-rich company willing to pay for increased market share, Microsoft’s options remain very much open and Ballmer is adamant they will not be forced into paying substantially over the odds for Yahoo.
“We’re interested to pay for [Yahoo] at some level and beyond that level we’re not willing to pay for it.”
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