Company gives take on negotiation as clock ticks on Icahn proxy fight

MarketWatch Jun 30, 08 4:34 PM CDT
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As it tries to fend off investor Carl Icahn's attempt to replace its board of directors, Yahoo today presented its version of buyout negotiations with Microsoft to shareholders, MarketWatch reports. Yahoo portrayed Microsoft as “unresponsive, inconsistent,” and loose on logistic details of the proposed merger. "The record casts doubt on whether Microsoft was ever committed to a whole company acquisition," its report said.
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Missive blames office politics, lousy execs for sinking company

Fortune Magazine Jun 27, 08 8:05 PM CDT
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A sarcastic Yahoo employee slammed the company in an email sent to Fortune today, taking aim at futile executives and lousy decision-making. In the wake of Yahoo's latest shakeup, "things could not be better," the email says: True, past "reorgs" were sparked by pointless executive shifts, but eight execs really did quit this week to be "with their families," and "as for the Google deal, HOORRAY!"
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Struggling company attempts to recover after Microsoft bid

New York Times Jun 27, 08 8:52 AM CDT
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Reeling after Microsoft’s failed takeover bid and bracing for a fight with financier Carl Icahn over board control, struggling Yahoo is once again restructuring itself, the New York Times reports. “Any organization change is disruptive,” said Yahoo’s president, but “the flip side of disruption is the opportunity for renewed growth.” But analysts say it’s all talk. “It changes nothing,” says one.
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Social sites clash over letting users share info between services

MIT Technology Review Jun 27, 08 8:12 AM CDT
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There’s a movement among some social Web services, from MySpace and Yahoo to Plaxo, to let users share data, the MIT Technology Review reports. Take Google’s new Friend Connect, a service that lets users transport profiles and connections among sites. But Facebook, for one, is swimming against the tide, working to control its users’ data and arguing that control protects their privacy.
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Seeking to blunt attacks from Carl Icahn, the company goes to shareholders

MarketWatch Jun 26, 08 8:09 AM CDT
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Yahoo yesterday launched an offensive against billionaire Carl Icahn’s attempt to displace the board, detailing in a letter to shareholders why accepting Microsoft’s alternative $8-billion search-only deal would have diminished Yahoo’s value and hurt the company strategically, reports MarketWatch. CEO Jerry Yang and Chairman Roy Bostock said the proposal, in which Microsoft would have invested $8 billion in Yahoo, would have tied Yahoo to Microsoft for 10 years.
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Microsoft may now be seeking partial deal,
not full buyout

Fortune Magazine Jun 25, 08 3:05 AM CDT
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A deal may still be in the works between Microsoft and Yahoo—but not for a full acquisition of Yahoo, according to Fortune . Microsoft may be after Yahoo's search business, which the software giant needs to tackle competitor Google. Yahoo is also under investor pressure to revive talks. Its shares dropped 18% after buyout talks ended and have been falling steadily since.
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Net giants' deep pockets could squeeze creativity, competition

New York Times Jun 23, 08 3:22 PM CDT
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Advertisers are spooked at net giants like Google and Microsoft throwing their weight around in the world of online advertising, the New York Times reports. With its ad deal with Yahoo drawing fire at conference in Cannes, Google “clearly wants to replace the advertising industry in its totality," says the former CEO of a big New York agency.
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ANALYSIS
E-tailer stays nimble as Yahoo, eBay trip into the future

Economist Jun 20, 08 4:45 PM CDT
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Yahoo, eBay, and Amazon emerged from the dot-com bust as a mighty triumvirate, but only Amazon has kept its mojo in the decade's latter stages, the Economist reports. Yahoo, the oldest of the lot at 14, shooed away Microsoft, surrendered part of its business to Google, and failed to stay current. It survives, “but on the web’s equivalent of life support."
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Company execs quit amid changes

Wall Street Journal Jun 20, 08 7:26 AM CDT
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Regrouping in the aftermath of Microsoft’s takeover bid, Yahoo plans to consolidate its myriad branches, the Wall Street Journal reports. President Susan Decker aims to centralize the mail, search, and home-page teams to help boost earnings and justify its rejection of Microsoft’s $47.5 billion offer; some executives already have left amid the changes.
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ANALYSIS
Microsoft fiasco most public of Yahoo's woes; '09 could be tougher
CNNMoney Jun 19, 08 12:32 PM CDT
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Yahoo’s stock has slipped 16.5%, the company might as well be wearing a sign that says “take me over,” and there’s a line of shareholders waiting to sue for what they say was a mishandled non-deal with suitor Microsoft, Fortune reports—not quite the scenario Jerry Yang likely envisioned when he took over as CEO a year ago yesterday.
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Social networker seeks to become a portal

BusinessWeek Jun 13, 08 2:08 PM CDT
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Myspace is retooling itself to become a more direct competitor to web portals, specifically Yahoo, BusinessWeek reports. Starting Wednesday, the popular social networking site will unveil changes to its homepage such as news headlines, local weather apps, and entertainment links.
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analysis
CEO must pave way
for struggling company as investors look on

CNET Jun 13, 08 10:08 AM CDT
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As Yahoo and Google prepare for a new search-ad deal, it’s all up to CEO Jerry Yang, writes Charles Cooper for CNET. Will Yang be the next Steve Jobs, pulling a struggling company back to the spotlight—or will he fade like his Yahoo predecessors? The afreement "may turn out to be a clever move if it fosters the two companies' respective strength in search and display advertising," Cooper writes.
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Announcement comes just hours after Microsoft deal falls through

Wall Street Journal Jun 12, 08 8:10 PM CDT
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Yahoo struck a deal today with Google to display its rival's search ads, just hours after announcing the end of talks with Microsoft on a possible merger, the Wall Street Journal reports. The deal with Google, which still faces months of federal scrutiny, could bring in $800 million a year for Yahoo and have a profound effect on Internet advertising.
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Weekend meeting torpedoes hopes of a merger

Wall Street Journal Jun 12, 08 3:32 PM CDT
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Looks like a Microsoft-Yahoo marriage is off—for good this time, the Wall Street Journal reports. In a meeting last weekend, Microsoft representatives stated “unequivocally” that the software giant was not interested in purchasing all of Yahoo for any price. Yahoo then ruled out an alternative of selling Microsoft only its search business.
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