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Wait, that Yahoo thing is still going on?

Steve Ballmer bid farewell to Bill Gates -- but not, apparently, to Yahoo.

Even in the midst of the Microsoft co-founder's departure from daily life at the Redmond company, the Microsoft chief executive has been working behind the scenes to strike some sort of deal involving the Internet portal, according to a Wall Street Journal report today.

The newspaper reports that Microsoft has held new talks with potential partners, including News Corp. and Time Warner, about joining the Redmond company in a deal for a portion of Yahoo's business. However, the story quotes anonymous sources saying that the talks "are preliminary and unlikely to result in a deal with Yahoo."

Beyond that, the story is a good way of catching up on developments in the saga -- which has continued to play out despite Microsoft's formal withdrawal of its acquisition bid, and Yahoo's decision against selling off its search business to Microsoft.

The story also goes back and reveals some intriguing behind-the-scenes details of the Microsoft-Yahoo talks, including an April 15 meeting in Oregon that Microsoft tried to keep secret by having Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang and his team go to the back of a building "where a woman holding a closed red umbrella would be waiting for them at the loading dock."

Who knew Microsoft was so creative? But more than five months after going public with its Yahoo acquisition bid, it remains to be seen if any of this will result in any type of deal.

Posted by at July 2, 2008 1:36 p.m.
Category: Microsoft's Yahoo Bid

Comments

#146181

Posted by unregistered user at 7/2/08 2:43 p.m.

Meanwhile another new 52 week low today and likely another one tomorrow.

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#146268

Posted by LinuxIsBest at 7/2/08 7:33 p.m.

Buying Yahoo will do nothing positive for Microsoft. Instead it would deplete their cash reserves right as the economy is tanking, right when they need large reserves to ride out the coming 5 to 10 years of recession/depression we're headed into.

Ballmer has never seen an economic environment like the one the US is headed for right now. Heck, he couldn't turn Microsoft around even in a good economy and he's making all the wrong moves still.

You've really got to wonder which court jester (read that as senior Msft executive) is whispering into the emperor's ear on this one: "That new suit of Yahoo-line clothing looks just right on you, sire!"

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#146392

Posted by unregistered user at 7/2/08 11:19 p.m.

"Who knew Microsoft was so creative? But more than five months after going public with its Yahoo acquisition bid, it remains to be seen if any of this will result in any type of deal."

Whatever remaining credibility Ballmer had, has been erased by this clumsy soap opera.

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#146896

Posted by unregistered user at 7/3/08 1:43 p.m.

haha microsoft is stupid

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#147055

Posted by unregistered user at 7/3/08 4:56 p.m.

"Meanwhile another new 52 week low today and likely another one tomorrow."

MS has major problems. Ballmer knows it and is hoping he can get a year or two more of fixes paid by shareholders before they try to remove him. Then he and Gates will likely do a leveraged buyout and take the company private. Sell and buy GE. Getting killed currently, but cheaper, better run, less risk overall, and three times the dividend.

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#147372

Posted by Florin at 7/5/08 6:31 a.m.

Why these guys are keep trying to make the deal with yahoo?!. Is not clear this deal will never be.

I think MS should think to a strategy which will never involve yahoo

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