Microsoft-Yahoo Draws Huzzahs From Analysts

Some see bid turning hostile if Yang balks at Ballmer offer
By Chip Bayers,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 1, 2008 2:46 PM CST
Microsoft-Yahoo Draws Huzzahs From Analysts
A Times Square news ticker flashes a headline about Microsoft above a billboard for Yahoo! in New York in this Friday, May 4, 2007 file photo. Microsoft Corp. has pounced on slumping Internet icon Yahoo Inc. on Friday, Feb. 1, 2008, with an unsolicited takeover offer of $44.6 billion in its boldest...   (Associated Press)

First reaction to Microsoft's bid to buy Yahoo for $44 billion has been generally positive, especially among Wall Street analysts. Silicon Alley Insider's Henry Blodget, an ex-analyst, quotes several who predict regulators and shareholders will have no problems with the deal. Meanwhile, New York Times blogger Steven M. Davidoff says the timing favors a hostile takeover if Yahoo's board resists.

Elsewhere, the Wall Street Journal's Dennis K. Berman wonders if the only winners will be Yahoo shareholders, who should "take the money and run." He argues that with the rapid pace of change in today's business world, bigger doesn't necessarily mean better. Berman points to the previous merger of a big Net brand: "This has the feel of AOL/Time Warner 2.0 until proven otherwise." (More Microsoft stories.)

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