It seems that Microsoft will not be alone for much longer. Two new companies are currently considering bidding on Yahoo, upping the ante and the drama of the possible hostile takeover of the search engine giant, Yahoo.
Last week, Microsoft placed a bid of $44.6 billion to buy out Yahoo. Critics against Microsoft taking over Yahoo worry about anti-trust issues and a “MicroHoo” monopoly on e-mail and Internet services. Those for the bid say that it would be a way to bring down Yahoo’s competitor, Google.
New information has emerged saying that Yahoo had rejected a similar bid from Microsoft a year ago.
Now the dance gets more interesting, as two new giants are said to be considering bidding on Yahoo. Apple and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp are both said to be getting ready to submit bid on Yahoo.
Yahoo’s chief executive and co-founder, Jerry Yang, has long been known not to be a fan of Microsoft. Yang may welcome other bids as a way to avoid conceding to Microsoft. Google has offered to be a “white knight” and help Yahoo, but that would set up its own set of anti-trust issues. Apple, on the other hand, might have a real shot as rescuing Yahoo, provided that Apple wants to. There is a history between Yahoo and Apple, such as when Steve Jobs was invited by Yang to give a motivational talk to Yahoo staff.
Analysts believe that Microsoft won’t give up easily and may win out in the end. They say that the company is prepared to raise its cash and shares offer if forced to do so by any bidding rivals. Microsoft is anxious to capture some of that global web search market. Currently, they hold 4 percent of the market. Yahoo comes in at 13 percent, and giant Google leads at 66 percent. Other search engine companies such as Baidu.com, China’s dominant search engine leader make up the remaining percentages.
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
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