News
Report: Yahoo and Microsoft in 'Informal Talks' About Merger
"
MicroHoo"
could just happen peacefully after all.
CNET is reporting
this morning that Microsoft and Yahoo are now talking, at least informally,
about the merger. CNET reporter Dawn Kawamoto cites an unnamed source for the
information. "Yahoo has shown some willingness to have a conversation and
talk," the source said.
According to the report, by keeping the talks at an "informal" level,
the conversations do not have to be reported publicly; however, that also means
that they most likely haven't gotten very far.
The source also said that while Microsoft is frustrated about the pace of the
process, it's in it for the long haul. "Sure, there has been some frustration
in Redmond over the pace, but this is a marathon and not a sprint," the
source said.
Both Microsoft and Yahoo declined to comment to CNET about the report.
The report does not say when the communication between the two companies started.
Earlier this week, Yahoo lost one of the alternative suitors it was seeking
when News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch stated
at a conference that he would not battle with Microsoft: "We're not
going to get into a fight with Microsoft, which has a lot more money than us."
Just last week, Yahoo temporarily side-stepped Microsoft's attempt to nominate
new Yahoo board members who would be more open to Microsoft's bid of $44.6 billion
by pushing back the nominating deadline and suspending its annual shareholders
meeting indefinitely.
About the Author
Becky Nagel is vice president of AI for 1105 Media, where she specializes in training internal and external customers on maximizing their business potential via a wide variety of generative AI technologies as well as developing cutting-edge AI content and events. She's the author of "ChatGPT Prompt 101 Guide for Business Uses," regularly leads research studies on generative AI business usage, and serves as the director of AI Boardroom, a new resource for C-level executives looking to excel in the AI era. Prior to her current position she was a technical leader for 1105 Media's Web, advertising and production teams as well as editorial director for a suite of enterprise technology publications, including serving as founding editor of PureAI.com. She has 20 years of enterprise technology journalism experience, and regularly speaks and writes about generative AI, AI, edge computing and other cutting-edge technologies. She can be reached at [email protected].