Yahoo Pleads for MSN Buyout

Regulators said no to the Google/Yahoo advertising deal. Yahoo now finds itself in a difficult position. If the ad merger had gone through, Yahoo would have plenty of extra money to be able to move forward with their business plans, however with the loss of that cash and the decline in the economy Yahoo finds itself in a bad position.

So much so that they are now trying to get MSN to put their buyout offer back on the table. Well as the saying goes there has never been a better time to buy. Yahoo’s shares are just under the $14 mark and Yahoo is in a vulnerable position.

According to the Nielsen NetRatings in August, Google owns 60.0% of the search engine traffic, Yahoo 18.1%, and MSN 10.7%. Last time I said this wouldn’t go through because of government involvement but now that I look at the numbers with fresh eyes, I am more inclined to believe this will go through just fine. 28.8%, though not too pretty for the handful of search engine portals that share 11.2% between them, it is viable enough to not be considered harmful for the market.

Although personally, I would not like to see Yahoo under Microsoft, I think it would be a pretty good deal for both. History in the search engine marketplace has shown that neither company has what it takes to take down Google or even hold a candle to them.

So What’s next?

Microsoft has the luxury of waiting. They can sit on this for a bit and see how far Yahoo’s value drops, the more it drops the more desperate Yahoo gets. I think that if Microsoft doesn’t make a move by the end of the month they will probably wait for next year late January/February.

So keep your eyes posted on this. My curiosity actually hopes they do buy them out just to see what will happen in the search engine arena. Will Microhoo find ways to increase their market share? Will Google find a means to beat down the two headed beast? Will coffee prices plunge? Stay tuned! Until next time, happy hosting.