The news is out…MS has proposed a hostile bid for Yahoo [44.6bn$] and only time will tell whether Jerry Yang finds a Ying in Microsoft or not.Meanwhile, lets see what will be the impact of this deal:
While both MS and Yahoo! are facing a tough competition from Google, the deal (if at all it goes thru’) will have mixed implications.
Big ++ves
- MS has a strong enterprise presence and sales footprints in non-US geographies. MS and Y!’s salesforce can dent Google’s attempt to acquire each and every advertiser.
- Both MS and Y! have acquired advertiser networks/exchanges and combining all of them will generate huge ad inventory (US as well as non-US geography, where even Google is struggling).
- Yahoo! has a strong presence in online communities and properties like Y! Mail/Y! QnA are indisputably #1. Google is still not able to monetize social networks.
- Both Y! and MS are betting big (just the way Google is) on online office (MS’s Live, Y!’s Zimbra acquisition)- and their products are in infancy stage – the two can bring the best of brains for the product – i.e. MS’s office expertise, and Y!’s Internet services expertise.
Big –ves:
- What about competing products? Y! Mail vs. Hotmail? Live vs. Y! search? They need to ensure that Google doesn’t benefit from internal competition.
- Integration – cultural integration will be a tough task. Core DNA of the two entities are as different as it could be (developers in Y! have a “special feeling” towards Windows)
- MS’s perceived image in the eyes of consumers. Chances are that the deal might lead to pilferage and consumers will end up in Google’s lap.
If at all, the deal goes thru’:
- MS should NOT touch Yahoo’s brands, products and most importantly the engineers - as far as product/execution is concerned, the two companies should remain as distant as possible.
- The only integration that needs to happen should be at the sales/marketing channels.
- Most importantly, keep the brands as-is (i.e. let Y! Mail and Hotmail co-exist and compete with Gmail), make interoerability easier across products.
What do you think? Will this deal make life easy for Google, as the integration will be a huge task and might affect the time to acquire customers/advertisers?
Now that Google failed to achieve the quarterly targets and is also struggling to create new sources of revenues, will MS+Y! take on Google?
What’s your opinion?
Interestingly, Microsoft rightly timed this proposal – just after Y!’s qtrly announcements and when the stock price has hit rock bottom.
Disclaimer: I work for Y! Views expressed are entirely personal.
This isn’t about sales forces, this is about declining audiences. Both the MSN and Yahoo platforms are losing share to Google because of losing strategies and poor execution. Putting these two losers together isn’t going to save them. Maybe their sales penetration will be better but the fact that they are losing share isn’t going to change because of a merger.
Both Y! and MS! are failing in the online/offline office productivity arena and MS’ constant worries about canalization aren’t going to help it advance either. Plenty of the anti-MS crowd is going to bolt from Y! on this, never to return.
I wish the deal gets thru and they bring a REAL competitor to google adsense…
I would say , M.S will gain from Yahoo’s online advertisement platform ( whatever sales + marketing ) but they will loose the mobile advertisement platform which will grow rapidly in couple of years…M.S is spending around 50 Billion to acquire Y! ..whereas Google planning to spend $ 2o to 40 Billion to buyout the wireless carrier frequency spectrum in U.S which will be auctioned next year then Google will be major wireless carrier & Andriod mobile platform is part ‘of this plan to build a solid mobile advertisement system …so Google will be big time gainer…So Ballmer think big and think ahead!!!! ….It is interesting to see how Google positions it’s leadership if Y! joins M.S
The diff is very simple – none of the two cos. are building any sorts of platform.
While Google is.
It’s all about creating that ecosystem (or take it as mafia), but y! and MS aren’t doing that!
eal issues will show in the Bets Yahoo and MSFT has palced in Mobile Arena . given the fact that india is fastest growing market for Mobile services . Yahoo’s Mobile App “Yahoo Go” comes Bundeled with Nokia Nseries devices and Nokia is not betting BIG Time on Windows Mobile . this is a area of conflict . will Yahoo honor its Pre merger commitments ? Other Area is Facebook , with Yahoo gone (if that happen ) Facebook will be harpressed for buyer ..IPO doesent look good move in this climate . this will make it easy for MSFT to push Yahoo/Live SERACH on Facebook page and this will give one more veneue to use their Add inventory . masterstroke buy MSFT , Good deal for Yahoo if they sell some stake not outright take over . not sure what it means for End user
Yahoo will loose all it’s geeky open source followers. That’s a BIG chunk. Most people in the US have “evil” as the synonym for MS. Now they will attach them to Yahoo to. Yahoo engineers were always revered, but their association with MS might tarnish their image.
Although I would personally not want Y! to merge with MS, it would be interesting to see how Google responds to this, if it ever does, that is.
Too late for both of them. And in any case, EU might raise a few objections against this deal. Microsoft’s anti-trust troubles in europe are still not over.
how if nokia is interested with Y?
how if nokia is interested in Y?
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