Comments on: Microhoo… Yacrosoft?

By: Monday merger madness - Government - IT World Canada

Monday merger madness - Government - IT World Canada — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:37:22 +0000

[...] unlikely, as Microsoft believes advertising has become central to the software business. Elsewhere, Scott Rosenberg fears an AOL/Time Warner redux, while Brier Dudley has some issues with the media. Posted May 07 2008, [...]

By: bill

bill — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 09:39:07 +0000

Life after MSNHoo

By: The Long Tail: A Motive Force for Web 2.0, Makes Its Official Debut · Technology News RSS Feed - Web 2.0 News And Reviews

Wed, 23 May 2007 08:45:53 +0000

[...] Scott Rosenberg: ” If Microsoft acquires Yahoo, the companies? stock will initially prosper and the media will cheer on a new round of the War on Google. But seven years from now Yahoo will be as much of a shell as AOL is today. The talent will flee, the user base will stagnate, and Yahoo?s ability to innovate will wither under the weight of Microsoft bureaucracy and the pressure to serve Microsoft?s software interests.” [...]

By: BNET Intercom » Yahoo + Microsoft = Disaster? on BNET

BNET Intercom » Yahoo + Microsoft = Disaster? on BNET — Tue, 22 May 2007 22:50:08 +0000

[...] Wordyard: "Acquisitions at this scale virtually never lead to useful combinations, strategic synergies, or anything else of use…If Microsoft acquires Yahoo, the companies’ stock will initially prosper…But seven years from now Yahoo will be as much of a shell as AOL is today. The talent will flee, the user base will stagnate, and Yahoo’s ability to innovate will wither under the weight of Microsoft bureaucracy and the pressure to serve Microsoft’s software interests." [...]

By: Ric

Ric — Tue, 08 May 2007 13:13:26 +0000

@Sam – and neither do profits guarantee relevance or a future of growth … MS may be at a dead end and still make enviable profits for some time; but growth by acquisition is not innovation, nor is it particularly creative. Frederic’s question is on the money – will the Yahoo community stay in the event of a takeover?

By: Sam

Sam — Fri, 04 May 2007 22:29:30 +0000

Boy, most companies “at dead ends” would kill to have financials like these I suspect:
http://software.seekingalpha.com/article/33932

Buzz != profits.

By: Frederic Guarino

Frederic Guarino — Fri, 04 May 2007 19:53:09 +0000

You’re hitting a nerve with your cautious/skeptic stance and I tend to agree. You’re right, given the market cap numbers (MS 296 v Y 38) why is the media even speaking of a merger ? As you note, this would be an acquisition, with the inevitable culture clash and talent exodus that could negate the whole deal. It’s also interesting to wonder if Yahoo’s user base will stick around. Anyone up for trading Yahoo Mail for Microsoft Live ?

By: Gates and Portals

Gates and Portals — Fri, 04 May 2007 18:48:25 +0000

[...] speculation about a Yahoo/Microsoft merger is delicious. Scott Rosenberg, comparing the deal with the Time Warner/AOL buy-out before the Clinton speculative bubble burst, [...]

By: Ric

Ric — Fri, 04 May 2007 17:05:26 +0000

Although I’m not a big Yahoo! fan, they now own two of my favourite Web apps: del.icio.us and Flickr – and Microsoft is almost certainly the worst thing that could happen to them.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Fri, 04 May 2007 17:00:31 +0000

Really interesting post. This time around maybe your skepticism will actually catch fire, given how everyone remembers the AOL deal.

I also wrote a highly skeptical column on the AOL Time Warner merger at Upside.com.

Of course, the company I cited as a better investment at the time was Yahoo ;-> (And I got a lot of email from Yahooligans thanking me for ‘getting’ their company and strategy….)