Apple among those considering rival bid for Yahoo?

Global giants including Apple Inc. and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. are considering rival bids for the internet search icon Yahoo, which has received a $44.6 billion offer from Microsoft, the Scotsman is reporting.

Though the report cites no sources, it points to a statement on Yahoo's website that says that company will seek acquisition proposals from other companies, evaluate all of its strategic alternatives, and then "pursue the option that it believes can best maximise value for our shareholders."

In addition to Apple and News Corp., several other firms are reported to be unwilling to allow Microsoft to gobble up Yahoo without a fight, including American media conglomerate InterActiveCorp and leading Chinese search firms such as Alibaba.com.

"Yahoo chief executive and co-founder Jerry Yang is understood not to be Microsoft's greatest fan, and would be prepared to line up another 'white knight' rather than concede to Ballmer," the Scotsman wrote in its report. "It is believed he would be particularly open to a rescue bid from Steve Jobs' Apple Corp, having openly expressed his admiration for the firm in the past."

In an effort to help boost sagging moral at the once thriving internet search company, Yang this past October called upon Jobs to deliver a motivational speech at a company meeting consisting of approximately 300 of Yahoo's top brass.

The message delivered by Jobs was that Yahoo — a company with one of the largest Internet user bases — can do and achieve anything. Like Apple, he said, Yahoo retains some incredibly valuable assets, but now needs to focus on execution.

88 Comments

hmurchison 11823 comments · 23 Years

About 16 years ago

I could see Apple and Yahoo creating good synergistic mileu more so than Microsoft and Yahoo which are too redundant in product offerings.

Apple would clean up the myriad of Yahoo tools and provide some direction to the companies many offerings.

.Mac would become a premium service at $149 a year and Apple would basically turn Yahoo into .Mac on steroids ...but for free for most services.

solipsism 25701 comments · 18 Years

I don't see Apple wanting to buy the chaotic boondoggle that is Yahoo.
Could Apple legally invest into Yahoo before putting in an offer that would make MS counteroffer, thereby increasing Apple's financial holdings as Yahoo stock would skyrocket again and drain MS of more money if the deal goes through? Well, they can at least do one of the two legally.

gqb 1933 comments · 17 Years

Oh lord, please, no.
Hopefully this would just be a ploy to make MS pay even more.
The MS bid is not about any product or technology... its about eyeballs, pure and simple.

But for the most entertaining look at the bid, check out...
http://fakesteve.blogspot.com/2008/0...-of-ideas.html

Fake Steve's finally back on track.

eduardo 181 comments · 18 Years

As someone with both a .mac subscription and paid subscription to Yahoo! email I too would welcome Yahoo! being bought by anyone else (well except to the Chinese company being mentioned in the article). I'm weary of Microsoft radically making Yahoo! less Apple friendly.

markb 153 comments · 17 Years

No chance Apple is so incredibly stupid to bid on YHOO (I hope!). They have enough on their plate and I don't think the value is there to come in over MSFTs bid.

Personally, I like Yahoo and wouldn't want to seem them consumed by MSFT, but I think the resulting indigestion would be great fun to watch and a big win for Apple. I would like to see MSFT get bled for another 10-15 billion on this purchase if possible though.