Microsoft has decided to step it up! Today, Microsoft offered to acquire Yahoo! for $44.6 billion. This is a 62% premium over yesterday’s closing price.
Many industry experts, including Scot Wingo, have long rumored that both Microsoft and Yahoo! were both considering acquiring eBay whose battered stock price has increasingly made it an attractive acquisition target. As recently as three weeks ago, Yahoo! was rumored to be in discussions to buy eBay.
With Yahoo!’s recent challenges, Yahoo!’s stock has continued to slide, and therefore, it has become a more attractive target as well. Microsoft’s bid is very bold, but to be quite honest, it was inevitable. Microsoft and Yahoo! have both fallen woefully behind Google in the search game, and they both need to find a way to shake it up. Today, Microsoft took a leadership position in that effort.
I will do a more in depth analysis in a subsequent post.