Microsoft’s Ballmer Not Interested in Being Yahoo’s First Runner-up

Friday, November 7th, 2008 by Andy Beal

Microsoft’s Ballmer Not Interested in Being Yahoo’s First Runner-up

It appears Jerry Yang’s appeal for Microsoft to buy Yahoo is falling on deaf ears. According to AP, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is just not interested anymore:

"We made an offer, we made another offer, and it was clear that Yahoo didn’t want to sell the business to us and we moved on," Ballmer said. "We are not interested in going back and re-looking at an acquisition. I don’t know why they would be either, frankly. They turned us down at $33 a share."

I can’t say I blame him. He did leave the door open for a partnership deal–likely similar to that he proposed before Google stepped in–saying:

"I’m sure there are still some opportunities for some kind of partnership around search, but I think acquisition is a thing of the past"

As I look out my window, I can’t help but compare Yahoo to one of the Fall leaves still on the tree. Desperately clinging to life, but ultimately doomed to blow around in the wind: directionless and likely to end up in the gutter.

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15 comments on “Microsoft’s Ballmer Not Interested in Being Yahoo’s First Runner-up”

Andrey Says:

November 7th, 2008 at 11:11 am

Harsh statement there at the end, yet I don’t completely disagree.

Yang may still try to hold out for a high price (comparatively) while Balmer would want a much steeper discount. Especially after Yahoo’s other choices are quickly disappearing and their business is going down hill.

I wouldn’t be surprised by an acquisition, but I think there will at least be some sort of deal between the two.

Andrey’s last blog post..Microsoft No Longer Interested in Yahoo Acquisition?
Andy Beal Says:

November 7th, 2008 at 11:14 am

@Andrey – it’s harsh, but true. As much as I like Yahoo–and its great employees–the company is clinging to life. It needs a “Spring” so it can re-blossom.
Jaan Kanellis Says:

November 7th, 2008 at 11:31 am

Good analogy Andy. Sometimes analogies like this can sum things up so eloquently.

Jaan Kanellis’s last blog post..No Nonsense New Rules to Marketing and PR
SEO Tips South Africa Says:

November 7th, 2008 at 1:19 pm

Too little too late….
Roger Says:

November 7th, 2008 at 1:55 pm

“ultimately doomed” Perhaps it’s a bit too early to write off Yahoo.

For one thing, they are consistently the second or third most visited Internet property. For another they have two properties that lead in their sector, and continue to evolve and grow despite competition: Flickr and Yahoo Finance.

Perhaps these will be spun off, but my guess is that Yahoo will find a way to leverage its assets and get a viable long term strategy in place.

Roger’s last blog post..How to turn people off: sue your critics
Saad Kamal Says:

November 8th, 2008 at 7:31 am

If Ballmer really meant what he said, then I feel really sad for yahoo. Yahoo has always been a wonderful company that really helped to change the web.

But I still feel that the deal will go forward …Microsoft Likes drama..

Saad Kamal’s last blog post..The 2nd Annual Open Web Awards is Live
Nicole Price Says:

November 8th, 2008 at 8:33 am

Balmer must be one tough opponent if you are playing poker with him. He is now pushing the price down. QED.

Nicole Price’s last blog post..Ideas for a Mother-to-be
SoLinkable Says:

November 8th, 2008 at 6:55 pm

After all the crap Yang put Microsoft through, why on earth would they want to get more involved with him?

SoLinkable’s last blog post..Blizzard pummels South Dakota, stranding motorists
savings Says:

November 8th, 2008 at 6:55 pm

If and only if Balmer must be one tough opponent if you are playing poker with him. He is now pushing the price down. Let rewrite history for search engines.
Utah SEO Pro Says:

November 9th, 2008 at 4:33 am

Not surprising. They big 3 search engines are probably all getting a bit sick of each other by now.

Utah SEO Pro’s last blog post..The Future of SEO
Abdulrehman Says:

November 9th, 2008 at 4:48 am

They sure are sickening me now, be the best, guess that’s the motto of every search engine!

Abdulrehman’s last blog post..Save Bandwidth by Optimizing your Blog’s Pictures
Shane internet marketing Says:

November 10th, 2008 at 2:52 am

I think Yahho! made a mistake in turning down microsoft the first couple times.. Unfortunately they’re just not worth it for the software giant, and I personally don’t believe they ever were
cat Says:

November 10th, 2008 at 3:24 am

No wonder that these big companies have concurence
Ultimate Blackhat Says:

November 12th, 2008 at 12:44 pm

I think the takeover still makes sense. At the end of the day they have Google to compete with. Its just the matter of time.
Microsoft to Pay $20 Billion for Yahoo Search Says:

November 30th, 2008 at 12:31 pm

[...] CEO Steve Ballmer has said repeatedly that they are not interested in buying Yahoo, although he has not completely ruled out a search deal of some [...]

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