Google Tries To Make Yahoo An Offer It Can’t Refuse

The Wall Street Journal, after talking to sources at Yahoo or Google, reports that Google reached out to Yahoo and made an offer to help Yahoo avoid Microsoft’s takeover bid. Google can’t offer to buy Yahoo outright; it doesn’t have that kind of money, there isn’t a good enough market to borrow the money, and Google’s got close to $5 billion tied up in the FCC auction. Plus, the antitrust regulatory storm kicked up by a vengeful Microsoft wouldn’t be worth it.
Instead, Google is offering assistance in helping Yahoo find alternatives. Google can help Yahoo line up other bidders, or barring that, Google could form a revenue agreement with Yahoo to keep the company away from Microsoft. One scenario I’m hearing discussed is the “Yahoo sells its soul” scenario, wherein Yahoo outsources a significant part of its business to Google, ruining the value of the company […]

See original post by Nathan Weinberg