Yahoo! and Microsoft talks fall through once again

Alright, we're so over this, guys. Either somebody buys somebody or they don't, but we can't stand all the drama and the grandstanding and the hurt feelings. Microsoft won't pay $33 a share anymore, Yahoo's shares are down, Icahn is on a rampage -- when did this stop being fun?

[Aguiluz @ Jun 12th 2008 4:20PM]

M$ said "Screw off" already...

[Greg @ Jun 13th 2008 1:55PM]

ooooh...very clever use of the $ as the S. You are either in middle school or didn't get the memo that doing that is now stupid.

[Todd @ Jun 12th 2008 4:23PM]

Yes Yahoo is farming all it searching out to Google. Don't need Redmond's blood money.

Don't like it investors? Sell your shares and leave us alone. If you just want short term results go to Vegas and bet on black at the roulette table.

[fred @ Jun 12th 2008 4:29PM]

"Don't like it investors? Sell your shares and leave us alone."

You do know that the shareholders are the real owners of the company?

And no they aren't going to leave them alone, as it is their money that is keeping them in business and in a job.

And yes they do have the ability to kick them out on their butts if they see fit.

[kjb434 @ Jun 12th 2008 4:41PM]

Good point Fred,

GO ICAHN GO!

I hope Microsoft does buy Yahoo. The shareholders deserve a better group of people than the idiots on this board and the nutcase CEO of Yahoo.

Yahoo stock is falling because they didn't accept the GENEROUS offer from Microsoft.

[Mark Anderson @ Jun 12th 2008 4:57PM]

@Todd

I recommend you take a business course.

Seriously.

[gad get @ Jun 12th 2008 5:09PM]

Ignorance is bliss, for those who enjoy irritating other people.

[roach @ Jun 12th 2008 5:27PM]

Todd said: SELL! SELL! SELL!

[Nohone @ Jun 12th 2008 7:03PM]

Did you hear that investors of Yahoo! (especiall you, Icahn, the person who made billions from investments)? Some random guy on the internet named Todd, who has not given out his business nor investment credentials (and presumably has none), says that you should give up because it does not meet his approval. Obviously he knows better than you how to run a business, invest, make money, etc., so you should listen to him and give up.

[alexmueller @ Jun 12th 2008 7:13PM]

I agree the shareholders have a say however people like Icahn could give two shits about Yahoo, what it's mission is, the people who work there etc. All he cares about is making a huge profit. He only has his best interests in mind.

[Matt @ Jun 12th 2008 8:31PM]

@alexmueller

You do understand that people invest in companies to make money, correct? And that the job of the management is to make the shareholders money? And when they undertake actions that sacrifice shareholder money for personal pride, they are not doing their job and can be removed?

Jerry Yang's days at Yahoo! are extremely numbered.

[Jack Storm @ Jun 12th 2008 8:18PM]

poor Todd, he just get web pwned lol

[Todd @ Jun 12th 2008 10:45PM]

Bought Google stock in 2005. I don't feel pwned.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don't_be_evil

[Nohone @ Jun 13th 2008 4:24AM]

"Don't Be Evil"

Tell that to the Chinese.

[Nohone @ Jun 13th 2008 4:43AM]

Let me make an amendment to my comment, Todd...

You bought GOOG in 2005? I don't think so. The day GOOG went public, and I remember this very well, I was at the bottom floor of the Columbia Tower in Seattle on a business trip waiting for the elevator. I was talking with a friend about how I wished I could buy Google shares. The elevator doors opened, just as I said "... but all the investment bankers have bought all the shares." There was a woman on the elevator who said, as we stepped in, "are you talking about Google?"

I said "yes, why". She replied that she was an investment banker, and all the shares have been bought. Unless you were very, very lucky, or a Google employee (which makes your comment invalid as you are impartial), the chances of you buying any Google stocks are not probable. In fact, if you do own Google stock, then your entire comment (including that which criticizes Icahn) is laughable, as you are trying to do what you criticize others for - manipulating the market.

[alexmueller @ Jun 13th 2008 12:02PM]

@Matt Gee I worked at a company that got bought by another company and it slowly started to suck, I don't know about you but it's not very fun. I can't imagine the Yahoo employees are happy about Microsoft laying off thousands of workers. By your logic all companies should just merge into one company, sure most people will be out of a job, but that one company will be really rich and powerful with all those acquisitions and maybe you'll be lucky enough to own shares in it. Perhaps you can do wonderful things with your money and throw it at all the people without jobs.

[whiskey @ Jun 12th 2008 4:23PM]

It stopped being fun just about the time that Dvorak dismissed the issue...

It's even less fun to watch than all that Vista stuff. I still wonder how M$ will transition all those PHP based services...

[Mark Anderson @ Jun 12th 2008 4:58PM]

Note to self: Anyone who refers to Microsoft as M$ dies when I'm king.

[Ellianth @ Jun 12th 2008 5:42PM]

Note to bodyguards:

Mark is obviously trying to usurp me. Kill him!

[Karl Hackswell @ Jun 12th 2008 5:47PM]

Can I refer to them as Micro$uck?

[Mark Anderson @ Jun 12th 2008 6:00PM]

Note to self: Damn! He's on to me!

[whiskey @ Jun 12th 2008 6:57PM]

Note to self: At this rate, you will die faster than your old habits...

Ejem,I meant Microsoft, cough cough...

[Carl Vitullo @ Jun 12th 2008 10:49PM]

Hmm. that's interesting.
everyone who used 'M' followed within 6 characters of '$' got low ranked.

wonder why that is?

[Mark Anderson @ Jun 14th 2008 5:28PM]

Uncanny isn't it?

[Thi mam(kris120890) @ Jun 12th 2008 4:24PM]

I thought M$ said tey were renewing their bid for yahoo ages back. About 2 Months ago if i remember correctly. Your 2 months too late.

[Thi mam(kris120890) @ Jun 12th 2008 4:25PM]

sorry i meant they were'nt renewing their bid

[Munkcy @ Jun 12th 2008 4:56PM]

MSFT said they were removing their big for a full acquisition but they (MSFT and YHOO) were in talks about everything just short of a full acquisition until sometime this week.

So this is more like MSFT saying "Fine, I don't even want to be friends with benefits."

[Brad @ Jun 12th 2008 8:21PM]

You can always spot the age of someone by their use of "M$" and inability to read beyond headlines.

[Vidit Bhargava @ Jun 12th 2008 4:25PM]

the only one benefiting from this is google

[Justin @ Jun 12th 2008 4:31PM]

Yahoo is a bunch of garbage. I hope Icahn throws them all under the bus. They're essentially google search now, with some worthless news, weather and romance options.

woo woo.

[Minilap @ Jun 12th 2008 5:05PM]

idiot

[Justin @ Jun 12th 2008 5:11PM]

Ousted by one word?

Fail.

[gad get @ Jun 12th 2008 5:25PM]

I very very rarely use Yahoo! Search. In fact, the only Yahoo! service I really use is Yahoo! Mail. And I actually just got a Gmail account, and prefer it. The only reason I still use my Yahoo! Mail account is because I'm not sure how to get rid of it, and I don't want to miss messages sent there.

I think that unfortunately Yahoo! is slowly but inexorably dying from its inability to match Google feature-wise and interface-wise. Why Microsoft even wants to acquire such a company is beyond me.

[tekdemon @ Jun 13th 2008 10:07PM]

Actually I believe Yahoo Finance is still one of the top finance tools on the web, although Google has been slowly improving Google finance Yahoo is still the #1 free finance info site.

Of course that doesn't really redeem them for having let themselves fall out of the lead on pretty much all their other services.

[TheGuy @ Jun 12th 2008 4:33PM]

It's obvious what's happening here. Microsoft originally wanted a deal in good faith with Yahoo's board, and reportedly were even willing to add more money to the original 33$ per share deal to keep things in good faith. I think most of us can agree that was a generous offer. However, in an act of sheer stupidity/arrogance Yahoo's board rejected the deal. They were asking for a lot more money than Microsoft was willing to pay, and Yahoo has a pretty potent poison pill (greater collaboration with Google) to sour a hostile takeover. So, since the good faith approach has failed, Microsoft is going to plan B: pull the offer and let the shareholders replace Yahoo's board with people who are willing to let Microsoft buy Yahoo. We're already seeing the set pieces for that coming together, especially with Carl Icahn now leading the charge. So unless Yahoo has a really great product or service they're working on that'll substantially increase the value of the company to were it would have made sense for them to reject Microsoft's offer (my bet is no), the board will be ousted and the deal will go through.

[Dan @ Jun 12th 2008 4:43PM]

I highly doubt yahoo has anything in the works, it has been drying up for some time now and is just waiting to be taken over now. Microsoft has been a buying binge it seems, with Danger being bought out recently and now soon Yahoo. Hopefully MS can turn these two companies around for the better as they both need a new business plan to get back into gear. (Danger was in huuuge debts and not performing what it couldve done, and yahoo is just sailing along the same it has for yeeaars with nothing new or worthwile to even invest in .)

[Jimmy Jones @ Jun 12th 2008 4:45PM]

I agree with you! This reminds me of the car dealership......you see a car you like and you tell them where u wanna be in $$ and they tell u their price... then u said NO i don't like ur price...then u leave...then they call u back saying another price " + tax" (which I assume your price including tax...but when you accept that price...they manage to change figures and have u pay for taxes so it looks as if they gave u a deal but they took back the money from the taxes u r charged..

good trick from the dealers..

[Danakin @ Jun 12th 2008 4:46PM]

I didn't read a word of this

[virain @ Jun 12th 2008 4:58PM]

Yahoo phone, yPhone! LOL Just kidding

[Scentedflame @ Jun 12th 2008 6:00PM]

@ Danakin,

I AM POSTING THIS MESSAGE TO INFORM YOU THAT I DID NOT READ WHAT YOU POSTED.

Yeah, so I'm mocking you a little. That is because I think what you did was pointless.

[The Engadgeter @ Jun 12th 2008 4:38PM]

I hope yhoo drops to 10. They were dumb and greedy to expect more than the original offer of over 30 when they were 18.

Shareholders should make a motion to overthrow the board.

[Homeboy @ Jun 12th 2008 4:40PM]

Yahoo CEOs and investors are full of estrogen, they need to get the tampons out of their asses and recognize what's best for them.

[kjb434 @ Jun 12th 2008 4:44PM]

It wasn't the investors. It was the board and the CEO.

Many of the investors are rightfully mad right now at them.

[Munkcy @ Jun 12th 2008 5:02PM]

You're right. YHOO's CEO and Board made a bad business decision, that makes them women. And not just women, women who incorrectly use tampons.

[Abuzar @ Jun 13th 2008 1:51AM]

Yahoo has more than one CEO?

[David @ Jun 13th 2008 2:09AM]

yup... Jerry is a total ass. I've already lost from $35 to now...

[Jimmy Jones @ Jun 12th 2008 4:42PM]

It stopped being fun when M$ bailed out (the first time) ......... I say fire Y! chairman and give Icahn back his shares and say screw off....my lounge..

[m1o6d @ Jun 12th 2008 4:43PM]

i loled when i saw yahoo go down with 10% :P

[Frankenstein Black @ Jun 12th 2008 4:48PM]

MEH! Just don't mess up the free email that I have had for ages now...

[TheGuy @ Jun 12th 2008 4:50PM]

@Danakin

Thanks for your meaningful input in this discussion.

/sarcasm