Yahoo Buy Wasn't Strategic, says MS

By The WHIR, May 23, 2008
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May 23, 2008 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- Microsoft (microsoft.com) CEO Steve Ballmer revealed Friday the company had never considered purchasing Yahoo as a strategic move, and that walking away from the deal would now allow the company to spend $50 billion on other key acquisitions, Reuters reports.

This echoes statements made earlier this month by chairman Bill Gates, who said Microsoft should have no problems developing its Internet strategy -- Yahoo or no Yahoo.

"Yahoo was never the strategy we were pursuing," Ballmer told attendees today at a technology conference in Moscow, Russia. "We will spend money on some acquisitions. You can do a whole lot of things with 50 billion dollars."

Earlier this month, Microsoft dropped its proposal to buy Yahoo for $47.5 billion, or $33 per share, after Yahoo rejected the offer, saying it undervalued the company. The company said it would only settle for $37 per share.

Ballmer confirmed this week that Microsoft was no longer in talks to acquire Yahoo, but said the company was still considering other types of deals with the second largest search engine.

Microsoft has already placed a bid to buy Yahoo's search business and settle for a minority stake in the company, according to a source familiar with discussions recently told Reuters.

Ballmer also dismissed the possibility of Microsoft's Silverlight technology merging with competitor Adobe System's Flash technology to compete with a potential merger between Adobe and Apple.

"We compete with Flash ... I'm open-minded, but there's really no discussion of merging with Adobe. Developers should all learn Silverlight," said Ballmer. He adds that the Internet start-ups field is not maximizing its full potential.

Tags: Search engine Apple ETT Microsoft Reuters