Google Works to Torpedo Microsoft Bid for Yahoo
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Google is making an unusually aggressive effort to block Microsoftâs $44.6 billion hostile bid for Yahoo.
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Microsoft Corp  will  authorize a proxy battle for Yahoo Inc  this week to  convince the Web company's shareholders to agree on a takeover  deal that the Yahoo board so far has rejected, the New York  Times' Dealbook blog said on Tuesday.
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Internet giant Google has urged regulators to scrutinise Microsoft's proposed move to buy Yahoo.
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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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Yahoo Inc  is set to reject  Microsoft Corp's  unsolicited bid, now worth $42  billion, as too low, a source familiar with the situation told  Reuters on Saturday -- the first clear signal the board might  be prepared to negotiate and sell the Internet media giant.
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Would Yahoo! give Microsoft an unfair advantage over Google?
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If the massive deal does go through, Google will at last face a major threat to fend off. Technical integration between Microsoft and Yahoo could be a nightmare, according to some analysts. Yet customers might stand to gain.
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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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Microsoft plans to intensify its pursuit of Yahoo this week when it authorizes a proxy fight to oust Yahoo&#39;s board, meaning the 19-day old acquisition attempt will soon turn a darker shade of ugly, according to The New York Times.
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Google Inc  fired back on Sunday at Microsoft Corp's  $44.6 billion bid to acquire Yahoo Inc , accusing Microsoft of seeking to extend its computer software monopoly deeper into the Internet realm.
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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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Charles Arthur: Why Google might benefit from Microsoft's attempt to shoehorn Yahoo into itself
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In a bold move to counter Googleâs online pre-eminence, Microsoft said that it had made an unsolicited offer to buy Yahoo for about $44.6 billion in a mix of cash and stock.
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Yahoo&#39;s board of directors plans to reject&#160;Microsoft&#39;s unsolicited $44.6 billion takeover bid,&#160;The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday, citing as its source &quot;a person familiar with the situation.&quot;According to the report, the source said the Yahoo board has determined that the $31-per-share offer &quot;massively&#160;undervalues&quot; the online services company. In addition, Microsoft&#39;s buyout bid doesn&#39;t take into consideration the business risks that Yahoo would be taking if it entered into an agreement that in the end might not be approved by government regulators, the source told the Journal.According to the Journal, Yahoo&#39;s board intends to send Microsoft a letter on Monday, detailing its position.A Yahoo spokeswoman declined to comment on the report today. &quot;We are not providing details on the board&#39;s review process,&quot; she wrote. &quot;Yahoo&#39;s board is carefully and thoroughly evaluating the Microsoft proposal in the context of all of the company&#39;s strategic alternatives, and will pursue the best course of action to maximize long-term value for shareholders.&quot;Microsoft, which announced its offer for Yahoo on Feb. 1, couldn&#39;t be reached for comment today. The offer is a combined cash-and-stock deal; in announcing the bid, Microsoft said Yahoo shareholders could choose to receive either cash or Microsoft stock, although it added that the total consideration would be equally split between the two forms of payment.Yesterday, published reports said that Yahoo&#39;s board was meeting to discuss the offer.Yahoo is still evaluating other options,&#160;including a search advertising partnership with Google, according to today&#39;s report by the Journal. It also may still be open to a longer negotiation with Microsoft: The Journal said it was told by the source that Yahoo would be unlikely to consider any offers below $40 per share.If so, that would require Microsoft to raise its original offer by at least 29 percent, or about $13 billion. In other words, the cost for Microsoft to become a more credible rival to Google in the search and online advertising markets could start at about $57.6 billion.Google has been doing what it can to scuttle the Microsoft takeover bid, including playing the antitrust card by asking, in a blog post by one of its executives last Monday, whether Microsoft might &quot;attempt to exert the same sort of inappropriate and illegal influence over the Internet that it did with the PC?&quot;Microsoft quickly shot back, issuing a statement saying that a combination of it and Yahoo merger would &quot;create a more competitive marketplace.&quot;(Eric Lai contributed to this story.)Computerworld is an InfoWorld affiliate.
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If Yahoo rejects the Microsoft bid and finagles a deal with Google, it could open itself up to a slew of shareholder lawsuits, experts say.
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Microsoft Corp will authorize a proxy  battle for Yahoo Inc this week to convince the Web company's  shareholders to agree on a takeover deal that the Yahoo board  so far has rejected, the New York Times' DealBook blog said on  Tuesday.
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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.