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It has been discussed almost two years ago in the exerpt: "Microhoo! Not Gonna Happen" as rumour on Wall Street Journal. While supprisingly enough, the latest news today on FT.com says:
Microsoft said on Friday it had offered to buy search engine group Yahoo with a proposal that values the internet group’s equity at $44.6bn, as the software giant seeks to catch up with arch-rival Google.
The unsolicited cash proposal, with a cash and shares alternative, is pitched at $31 a share, a 62 per cent premium to Yahoo’s closing share price of $19.18 on Thursday. Shares in Yahoo jumped 53 per cent to $29.13 in pre-market trading, while Microsoft was $1.60 lower at $31.
The proposed offer price is below Yahoo’s 52-week high of $34.08 reached last October.
Microsoft signalled that a combination of the two companies would provide stronger competition for Google, the leading internet search engine. It said the proposed combination could generate synergies of $1bn, and provide significant economies of scale.
Steve Ballmer, Microsoft chief executive, said: “We have great respect for Yahoo, and together we can offer an increasingly exciting set of solutions for consumers, publishers and advertisers while becoming better positioned to compete in the online services market.
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