Microsoft to go hostile?

IDG News Service — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 14:41:11 -0700

Wait, did you hear that? Me neither. The Saturday, 4/26 deadline given to Yahoo by Microsoft for its takeover offer came and went without any resolution, and according to a New York Times story Tuesday on the topic, "two companies are still not talking."

So the question now is whether Microsoft will give up, or attempt a hostile takeover. The NYT story says Ballmer hinted at the possibility of walking away last Wednesday, but TechCrunch today posted up bios for 10 people it thinks Microsoft may name to the Yahoo board in a proxy fight. Candidates range from the former eHarmony CEO Jaynie Studenmund and former Nextel CEO John Chapple to the Director and Chairman at Virgin Media, James Mooney.

If you're interested in some expert analysis on how a hostile takeover might play out, check out this story from Marc Andreessen where he comments on an analysis from a couple of corporate attorneys. It's a good read that starts out with a nice summary of the story to date.

But in the midst of all the hostile hubbub, Mary Jo Foley at her All About Microsoft blog argues that Redmond's best move is to leave the table, or risk a culture clash that would alienate large swaths of the rank-and-file at both companies.

Finally, in other Yahoo news, the company announced it will partner with Jajah to handle Yahoo Messenger voice calls. The back-end deal shouldn't change anything for users, according to Jajah statements quoted in the story.

Related news, commentary, and predictions:

Prediction: MSFT sticks to its guns, cuts bid in 30 days
Prediction: The SaveXP.com petition will succeed
Ian Lamont: Microsoft's unrealized online dreams
Terrence Russell: The real reason Microsoft won't bring Blu-ray to the Xbox: HDi
Opinion: 10 'Net services that will succeed (and 10 that will probably fail)

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Microsoft to go hostile?