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Was $80 billion too little for Yahoo? If you believe a recent story in the Los Angeles Times, as many stock buyers appeared to have, that was indeed the case.
But would such a deal really make sense for the Windows giant?
Dan Kusnetzky, IDC vice president for system software research, cant see it.
“Since Microsoft is already presenting MSN in that space, I dont know what benefit they would get by acquiring Yahoo,” said Kusnetzky.
Gordon Haff, senior analyst for research house Illuminata Inc., agrees and elaborated on why the deal wouldnt make sense.
“With a market cap of over $58 billion, Yahoo would be a huge acquisition for even a Microsoft—both in terms of money and integration,” said Haff.
“While its true that Microsoft has done a basically piss-poor job with MSN over the years, I seriously question whether a Yahoo purchase would be a practical way to re-bootstrap its online presence,” Haff said.
Laura DiDio, however, can see reasons why Microsoft might pull the trigger on a Yahoo acquisition.
“I think Microsoft has to make a dramatic move, and I dont rule anything out,” said DiDio, the Yankee Groups research fellow for application infrastructure and software platforms.
“Whatever anyone thinks of Microsoft, Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, no one would deny that they are fierce and committed competitors,” she said. “In Google, they face the strongest, richest, most edgy competitor theyve seen in a generation. [Google co-founders] Larry [Page] and Sergey [Brin] are, in some respects, younger versions of Steve and Bill.