Google Comments on Microsoft's bid for Yahoo

February 5th, 2008

Google have come out with a full, sanctioned, comment on the possibility of Microsoft's takeover of Yahoo!

It seems that the Microsoft bid for Yahoo has been interpreted by Google as hostile, and the tone of an email to Yahoo!'s board doesn't suggest otherwise. The email of January 31^st refers to a letter received in February 2007 from Yahoo!'s chairman Roy Bostock, Bostock and is reported to have said "now is not the right time from the perspective of our shareholders to enter into discussions regarding an acquisition transaction"- so, has anything changed since then?

In a single word "no", the comment mades goes on about the commercial benefits to both parties, but after a thorough read its clear that Microsoft would act with hostility should their softly-softly approach fall on deaf ears:

"Depending on the nature of your response, Microsoft reserves the right to pursue all necessary steps to ensure that Yahoo!'s shareholders are provided with the opportunity to realize the value inherent in our proposal"- while this might be standard "bid" chat, it's not the type of thing that would make you feel warmer to the offer.

Google it seems agrees, their David Drummond, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer says that the bid is pretty much a rubbish idea. His objections are quite fundamental "It's about preserving the underlying principles of the Internet: openness and innovation".

Drummond is questioning the intention of the bid and doesn't mince his words. He sees it as a covert attempt for Microsoft to exert the same sort of inappropriate and illegal influence over the Internet that it did with the PC, tough talk indeed.

But then he would say something like that, wouldn't he? This bid would result in Google facing the first real threat to their "top position", and they are rightly nervous. You see they have no tried and tested strategy for dealing with such a threat.

What happens in the coming weeks is going to reshape the web's landscape considerably, or then again it may just reinforce the view that "Microsoft are greedy", "Google are generous", and "Yahoo! in trouble again".

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