Microsoft-Yahoo

Ready to pile in the car for The Road Ahead with Microsoft and its buyout bid for Yahoo?

We'll point out a few landmarks and potential detours to expect along the way in the coming days, weeks, and possibly months, and also take a brief glance in the rearview mirror to see where we've been.

Landmark 1: This weekend is the last weekend Yahoo and Microsoft will have to take advantage of a two-day stretch in which the markets are closed, before Microsoft slams up against a March 14 deadline to name its opposition slate to Yahoo's … Read more

I find it more than a little comical that Microsoft CFO Chris Liddell didn't get any questions about Yahoo and Bill Gates did get asked about it at a SharePoint conference.

Even when Yahoo is not openly discussed, it's always on people's minds. I find myself wanting to ask nearly every Microsoft executive to answer a question two ways, addressing their answers both if the Yahoo deal goes through and if it does not.

That's not to say Gates, CEO Steve Ballmer or anyone else at the company has much to say on the topic these … Read more

In the world of Internet investing, there are generally two get-rich exit strategies: acquisition or initial public offering.

Since the dot-com bust, the prospects of a consumer Web public offering have dropped considerably, despite Google's multibillion-dollar hit and the hype over Facebook. That's why many angel investors and some venture capitalists look to meaty acquisitions by Yahoo, Google, and Microsoft to reap their financial rewards.

But if Microsoft and Yahoo join forces, as many suspect they will, that means there's one fewer buyer of start-ups or midsize companies ideal for acquisition. That's at least the buzz … Read more

There is talking, and then there's talking.

Microsoft's CFO Chris Liddell told investors on Monday at the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference that Yahoo has "not yet formally responded" to Microsoft's unsolicited buyout bid.

Apparently, nothing has changed over the past two weeks, since we reported that Yahoo had not formally responded to Microsoft's offer and had remained "radio-silent."

And on the flip side, you have Liddell's boss, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer, telling folks at CeBit in Hannover, Germany, that "a range of dialogue" has been occuring between the … Read more

Will he or won't he?

Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell is speaking at the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference at 8:45 a.m. PST on Monday. Maybe some comments regarding the Yahoo bid will fall from his mouth, and then again, maybe not.

Liddell's Webcast may add to comments made Monday by Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer in Hannover, Germany.

Ballmer made the case for the existing offer.

"The deal makes sense with the price and structure we announced. We hope it becomes reality," he told reporters, according to the Associated Press.

Update 9:20 … Read more

Microsoft has tried the front-door approach in wooing Yahoo. But, pssst, the backdoor is unlocked.

The software maker, in its pursuit of Yahoo, has tried knocking on the Internet search pioneer's front door, then banging with its unsolicited bid, and now it's two weeks away from using a battering ram, should the deadline remain fast and firm to name an opposition slate to Yahoo's board.

But the backdoor has plenty of potential.

Yahoo's nonexecutive board chairman, Roy Bostock, and Microsoft director Charles Noski both serve on the board of investment bank Morgan Stanley. With Morgan Stanley'… Read more

In the next two weeks, observers of the Microsoft-Yahoo courtship will get a telling signal as to whether it's headed for a shotgun marriage or a friendly embrace.

Yahoo has the option of extending the March 14 deadline for shareholders to nominate an opposition slate of directors for its next annual shareholder meeting, though it is expected to maintain a hard deadline.

"It's unlikely but not out of the realm of possibility to extend the date to nominate directors," said Bruce Goldfarb, chief executive of proxy solicitation firm Okapi Partners. "I don't see the … Read more

I can understand why Steve Ballmer may be wondering if he'll ever catch a break from Neelie Kroes.

Europe's top regulator again stuck it to Microsoft--this time it was a $1.3 billion penalty for noncompliance with previous regulatory decisions. So far, Microsoft has paid more than $2 billion in fines to the EU. A billion here, a billion there--Everett Dirkson, where have you gone?

And no matter how much Ballmer coos about turning the page and being a good corporate citizen, the Old World's regulatory mandarins still distrust Microsoft. Take a listen to the recording of Kroes' news conference. … Read more

LOS ANGELES--Despite having just been hit with a record fine, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said Wednesday that his company is actually in full compliance with European regulatory demands.

"This is not news today," Ballmer said in an interview with CNET News.com. "We are in compliance, they agreed we are in compliance. This is a fine for activities that pre-date the compliance activities that Ms. Kroes talked about last fall. It says there was a past transgression and they assessed a fine for that past transgression."

However, Ballmer stopped short of saying that Microsoft's regulatory … Read more