Finally, Microsoft and Yahoo Execs Meet
March 16, 2008 |
The first step to ending the snarling face off was taken when Microsoft and Yahoo executives finally met in person to discuss the hostile takeover bid Microsoft made for the struggling internet company. Hopefully, talks between the two diverse companies will go well, turning a hostile takeover into something more akin to a merger or a meeting of the minds. The change in tone might help soothe the worries of Yahoo users concerned that Microsoft doesn't have their best interests at heart.
Neither company has commented officially on the meeting. Inside sources hinted that the meeting was a chance for Microsoft to show the reluctant Yahoo board what they saw as the combined future of the two companies. If Microsoft truly has a salable plan, it will be interesting to see how the talks change negotiations. If Microsoft intends to preserve many of the Yahoo properties as is, for example, Yahoo executives may open up to the idea a bit more.
It was already made abundantly clear through a very vocal shareholder base (and through the filing of two lawsuits by the shareholders against the board) that the shareholders are firmly in favor of accepting the merger. Yahoo's user base isn't quite as accepting of the idea, however, and neither is its board. The board has already used pretty much every stall tactic available to them to delay or prevent the acquisition.
It isn't clear at this point which company needs the other more. Microsoft is a stable company with little to no internet presence, thanks in part to how it has handled its properties like Internet Explorer. Refusing to meet internet standards compliance has certainly not helped it gets its foot in the door online. Yahoo has a firm foothold in the online world, but a financial footing that is shaky at best.
They each need the other for very different reasons, but that doesn't necessarily make the merger of the two a good idea. Microsoft will have to let go of its proprietary attitude toward software and products to continue to keep Yahoo properties viable, since their freewheeling nature is key to their success. Yahoo users will have to swallow the bitter pill of being owned by Microsoft. The view from either side of the merger is one that requires compromise.
