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Microsoft Scraps Yahoo! Acquisition Plans
5/5/2008
Microsoft said it continues to believe that its acquisition proposal would have benefited both companies.
"We continue to believe that our proposed acquisition made sense for Microsoft, Yahoo! and the market as a whole," Ballmer said in a prepared statement released May 3. "Our goal in pursuing a combination with Yahoo! was to provide greater choice and innovation in the marketplace and create real value for our respective stockholders and employees.
"Despite our best efforts, including raising our bid by roughly $5 billion, Yahoo! has not moved toward accepting our offer. After careful consideration, we believe the economics demanded by Yahoo! do not make sense for us, and it is in the best interests of Microsoft stockholders, employees and other stakeholders to withdraw our proposal.
"We have a talented team in place and a compelling plan to grow our business through innovative new services and strategic transactions with other business partners. While Yahoo! would have accelerated our strategy, I am confident that we can continue to move forward toward our goals."
According to Kevin Johnson, Microsoft president for platforms and services, Microsoft will instead focus beefing up its Web tools through "organic growth and partnership" and by continuing to invest heavily in new tools and "Web experiences."
Ballmer's complete letter to Jerry Yang can be found here.
About the author: Dave Nagel is the executive editor for 1105 Media's educational technology online publications and electronic newsletters. He can be reached at dnagel@1105media.com.
Have any additional questions? Want to share your story? Want to pass along a news tip? Contact Dave Nagel, executive editor, at dnagel@1105media.com.
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