Microsoft and Yahoo ink search deal
Microsoft and Yahoo fiiiiiiiiiiinally announced a search partnership this morning, bringing to an end months of endless rumors and speculation. The deal will provide Microsoft with a 10-year license to use Yahoo’s core search technologies and integrate Yahoo’s platform into Microsoft’s current search offering, Bing. Yahoo will focus on the advertising and will be the “exclusive worldwide relationship sales force for both companies’ premium search advertisers”. The partnership is subject regulatory review, a process that is expected to be completed in early 2010. Our favorite aspect of the deal is how much it has deteriorated — Microsoft first offered to buy Yahoo for over $40 billion back in February of last year, and then offered $1 billion for Yahoo’s search business a few months ago. Carol Bartz said at that point in time that it would take “boatloads of cash” for the two to work out a deal. Fast forward to today, and Yahoo gets a big fat goose egg up front. Awesome. The deal, by the way, was signed by both Bartz and Ballmer with a big purple pen. No, seriously.
Yahoo should have taken Microsoft’s Feb. 2008 offer, but as a consumer, I’m glad they didn’t. Lets just hope they stay afloat.
I’m not so sure about the goose egg. According to the WJS “There is no large upfront payment from Microsoft. Instead, the agreement is a revenue-sharing pact, with Microsoft paying Yahoo 88% of the search revenue generated from its sites during the first five years of the agreement”.
No more zachepsteinreport.com
Nice
It only took BGR a half-day to report this after everyone else, even my local news.
How do you bring an end to “endless rumors”?
Sounds like a good deal to me but signing a contract with a big purple pen? Gay. lol.
@ “harry legg”
What’s your point? BGR sux bc they didn’t run this story quick enough? I never saw you post before (not saying you didn’t, just saying I haven’t noticed you), if this is the best you can do, stop posting. You add nothing. Nothing.
So what happens to Bing?
Looks like the only winner here was MSFT (BING!)