Yahoo’s Content, Global Web Presence Still Highly Valuable

5. Content is still king 

Yahoo is perhaps best known for its search and applications, such as email, but the company is also one of the Web's top publishers of content. From sports to general news, Yahoo covers it all. It still does it quite effectively and retains the attention of hundreds of millions of Web users. Microsoft, meanwhile, has no comparable presence in that lucrative space. Maybe a Yahoo buy would help it establish that presence. 

6. Consolidation against Gmail

Google€™s Gmail platform continues to gain in popularity as Yahoo Mail and Windows Live Mail start to lose out. One of the nicest combinations in the online world would be Yahoo Mail with Windows Live Mail. Both platforms do some things quite well, but neither one of them do things perfectly. Wouldn€™t it be nice if they each borrowed nice features to deliver the best value in the email space? 

7. The engineering team is top-notch 

Although Yahoo€™s many Web products aren€™t as popular as they once were, the company still has hundreds of engineers that do an exceedingly fine job of delivering high-quality Web applications. Microsoft has its bases covered on the software side, but its engineering team could use a boost on the Web side. What better way to get that than with a Yahoo buy? 

8. Consider the international side 

Yahoo has a strong international presence. The company has loyal followings in many countries around the world and its search is still hanging on to the top spot in some places. Microsoft, which has an international presence with Windows and Office, could still stand to build up its global Web presence. There appears to be some synergy there. 

9. The infrastructure is there for the cloud 

The future of computing (and perhaps even Windows) will reside in the cloud. Although Microsoft has invested heavily in the cloud in the last several years, Yahoo has a built-in infrastructure ready to go. The company€™s servers, Web infrastructure and everything else related to the online world might just come in handy if Microsoft wants to increase its cloud focus in the coming years.

10. It might be an investment 

All of this talk about a potential Yahoo buy anticipates Microsoft buying the online firm and maintaining its services over the long term. However, what if Microsoft goes a different way with it and decides to acquire Yahoo, cut out the fat, improve some offerings and put it back on the market? After all, the company€™s patents alone are probably worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Maybe Microsoft should acquire Yahoo simply as an investment. 

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