I’m stunned by the breaking story my boss has sent me that Microsoft have just bid $44.6bn for Yahoo! The price is 62% above Yahoo’s closing share price on Thursday, so it’s going to be a hard one for Yahoo’s shareholders to reject.
If the deal goes ahead it will be the biggest internet tech takeover, and one of the biggest takeovers in American corporate history. Microsoft added that it did not believe there would be major regulatory hurdles.
Steve Ballmer, the chief executive of Microsoft, said:
“We have great respect for Yahoo!, and together we can offer an increasingly exciting set of solutions for consumers, publishers and advertisers while becoming better positioned to compete in the online services market.”
Combining Yahoo and Microsoft’s online forces will give Google a serious run for their money. I’m still trying to come to terms with the story! I’ll write more once I’ve had a real chance to think about the implications. Any early thoughts?
