Ballmer: Yahoo-Microsoft Deal Is Dead

Ballmer: Yahoo-Microsoft Deal Is Dead

Jul 24, 2008
1 minute read
eWeek content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More

Any Yahoo acquisition plans Microsoft might have entertained are now dead, said Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s CEO.

A Yahoo merger would have helped Microsoft’s bid to overtake Google in search, Ballmer said, but with the $40 billion bill for Yahoo now off the books, Microsoft is moving on and looking to invest more in search, a business he categorized as a “two-horse race” between Microsoft and Google.

“Yahoo for us was always a tactic, not a strategy,” Ballmer said during the company’s annual financial analyst meeting July 17.

When Microsoft talks about “the need to change our position revenue per search curve, Yahoo is a tactic to accelerate that,” he said. Yahoo and Microsoft also would have “had R&D and capital expense synergies by coming together.”

At this point, however, “there’s nothing under discussion between the two of us,” Ballmer said. “It didn’t work out; we’re done.”

In the future, Microsoft hopes that its place will be in search, he said.

Click here to read more on PC Magazine.

eWeek Logo

eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site's focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

Property of TechnologyAdvice. © 2026 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.