Google, Microsoft trade barbs over Yahoo bid
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Google has made its first official comments on&#160;Microsoft&#39;s proposed acquisition of Yahoo&#160;saying that the deal raises &quot;troubling questions&quot; and that the underlying principles of the Internet stand to be tested by the proposed deal.The statement refers several times to Microsoft&#39;s past regulatory transgressions and indicates that Google could be preparing to fight the deal -- if it is accepted by Yahoo -- by pushing regulators to disallow it.&quot;Could Microsoft now attempt to exert the same sort of inappropriate and illegal influence over the Internet that it did with the PC?,&quot; asked David Drummond, senior vice president of corporate development and chief legal officer at Google in a statement posted on the corporate blog on Sunday.Drummond also asks if an acquisition could allow Microsoft to &quot;extend unfair practices from browsers and operating systems to the Internet?&quot; and to &quot; take advantage of a PC software monopoly to unfairly limit the ability of consumers to freely access competitors&#39; email, IM, and web-based services?&quot;A report late Sunday in the online edition of The Wall Street Journal said Google CEO Eric Schmidt called Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang on Friday to offer help to the rival in thwarting the bid. The newspaper, which quoted people familiar with the matter, didn&#39;t provide details of the telephone call.Google has something to fear from a combined Microsoft and Yahoo. The proposed deal, which was announced on Friday and has Microsoft offering $44.6 billion for Yahoo, would combine the number two and three search engines. The two companies are also leaders in the areas of Web mail and instant messaging so a merger would provide stronger competition for Google in those areas.But Google has a massive lead in search and the deal wouldn&#39;t necessarily lead to an improvement in search results, so Microsoft and Yahoo would still face a challenge to surpass Google&#39;s current dominance in this part of the market.The Google statement got a quick response from Microsoft, which said a combination of the two companies would benefit Internet users by establishing a stronger number two competitor to Google.&quot;The alternative scenarios only lead to less competition on the Internet,&quot; said Microsoft&#39;s top-lawyer, General Counsel Brad Smith, in a statement.&quot;Microsoft is committed to openness, innovation, and the protection of privacy on the Internet. We believe that the combination of Microsoft and Yahoo! will advance these goals,&quot; Smith said.A merged company would still only account for about 30 percent of the search queries run in the U.S. and about 10 percent in Europe, he said.
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Internet giant Google said Sunday it finds "troubling" Microsoft's multi-billion-dollar bid to acquire rival Yahoo and urged US and international regulators to strenuously vet the proposed deal.
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SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK  - Yahoo Inc  would  consider a business alliance with Google Inc  as one  way to rebuff a $44.6 billion takeover proposal by Microsoft, a  source familiar with Yahoo's strategy said on Sunday.
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Technology giant Microsoft Corp said  on Friday that it had offered to acquire Internet media company  Yahoo Inc for $44.6 billion in cash and stock.
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Whatever the outcome of Microsoftâs bid for Yahoo, the move and Googleâs countermoves mark  an escalation in the confrontation between the two companies.
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Microsoft Corp offered  to buy Yahoo Inc for $44.6 billion, in a bold bid to transform  two ailing Internet businesses into a worthy competitor for  market leader Google Inc.
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Business software units of Yahoo  Inc  and Google Inc  are introducing beefed-up  versions of their Web-based software that compete with  Microsoft Outlook, offering yet another clue why Microsoft Corp   made a $45 billion unsolicited bid for Yahoo.
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Microsoft is trying to force Yahoo into a merger so that the two companies together will have a better chance of tackling Google.
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Yahoo Inc.'s rejection of Microsoft Corp.'s unsolicited takeover bid left investors guessing the next move in a tense mating dance that may hatch a more imposing challenger to Google Inc. or disintegrate into a bruising brawl.
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Yahoo Inc's board met by telephone on  Friday and discussed strategy for getting Microsoft Corp to  raise its $42 billion offer for the company and the possibility  of hiring Google Inc to run Yahoo's search, the Wall Street  Journal said.
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Yahoo remained coy on Monday as Microsoft publicly touted the virtues of its 44.6-billion-dollar bid to take over the Internet firm and Google maneuvered behind the scenes to thwart it.
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Yahoo Inc  insiders are  mulling ties to rival Google Inc  as a possible defense  to rebuff Microsoft Corp's  takeover bid, a person  familiar with Yahoo management's thinking said on Sunday.
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With Microsoft bidding nearly $45 billion to buy Yahoo, Google has begun to lay the groundwork to try to delay, and possibly derail, any deal.
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With Yahooâs shares up slightly on the news that its board has officially rejected the $31 a share bid from Microsoft, it appears investors are betting the company is looking for a better deal.
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Google raises antitrust concerns in first public comment about Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Yahoo.
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SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK  - Yahoo Inc would consider  a business alliance with Google Inc as one way to rebuff a  $44.6 billion takeover proposal by Microsoft, a source familiar  with Yahoo's strategy said on Sunday.
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Yahooâs rebuff of the $44.6 billion takeover bid raises the stakes in a battle involving two of the worldâs most prominent technology companies.