Google & Microsoft Looking to Buy Yahoo!? [Both Google & Microsoft Said to be Interested in Yahoo! Assets, But Don't Necessarily Want to Buy the Company]

Posted on TFTS by J. Angelo Racoma on Monday, 24. October 2011 under: Computer/Console Gaming, Internet Highlights

Yahoo! is struggling to get its company back in focus, but with both Google and Microsoft looming around to make a possible deal, what can we expect of Yahoo! as a brand?

Yahoo! has been in trouble, given a string of bad business decisions and disputes in management. The company fired its CEO earlier this year, and there are talks of either a takeover, acquisition or merger with various companies, including AOL and Microsoft. Yahoo!’s search is, in fact, almost completely powered by Bing, and an acquisition offer by Microsoft is seen as an attractive deal, in case anything pushes through.

But aside from Microsoft, it seems another industry giant is interested in Yahoo! Google is reportedly also courting Yahoo! in an effort to bring the portal under its fold. Thing is, neither Microsoft nor Google are said to be actually interested in gaining Yahoo! for its assets. Rather, both Microsoft and Google want to keep Yahoo! from each other.

CNN Money says Yahoo! is not a strategic fit for either Google or Microsoft. However, the company falling into each other’s hands will badly affect the other’s strategy. Microsoft has currently extended a search deal with Yahoo! to power searches with Bing. With this deal, Microsoft already has 30% of the U.S. search market, which is a big threat to Google. Meanwhile, Yahoo! falling into Google’s hands would be detrimental to Bing’s market share.

Neither company is reported to be considering an outright purchase, but they’re trying to finance private equity groups to increase their stake in Yahoo!

Yahoo! still gets good traffic worldwide, and the company’s R&D staff is said to be among the best, which means an acquisition will help bolster either Google’s or Microsoft’s capabilities and audience. But for now, acquiring Yahoo! is seen as a cheaper solution than losing the company to another rival.

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