Microsoft Makes $44.6B Bid to Buy Yahoo

Merger would create stronger competitor to Google for online search, advertising
By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 1, 2008 6:00 AM CST
Microsoft Makes $44.6B Bid to Buy Yahoo
Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang poses for a photo in front of the Yahoo booth at Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Jan. 7, 2008. Yahoo is expected to release quarterly earnings Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2008. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)   (Associated Press)

Microsoft has made a $44.6-billion offer  to buy struggling  search engine giant Yahoo. The  merger would help both companies compete against rival Google in the hotly contested on-line advertising market. The $31-a-share offer is a 62% premium on Yahoo's share price as of last night. Earlier this week Yahoo cut 1,000 jobs, its biggest since the dot-com crash.

Microsoft said in announcing the offer that the online advertising market is "increasingly dominated by one player. Together, Microsoft and Yahoo can offer competitive choice while better fulfilling the needs of customers and partners." If the bid is accepted it will be one of the biggest takeovers in corporate history and by far the biggest in the technology sector. Yahoo shares jumped to $29.45 in premarket trading, the Wall Street Journal reports; Microsoft dipped from $32.60 to $32. (More Microsoft stories.)

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