Ballmer Bashers Can't Have It Both Ways

Jerry was too greedy and cocered the Board who never did the due diligence on the offer which will likey draw numerous shareholder lawsuits in the near future. Ballmer and Microsoft hoped for a quick acceptance on the initial offer and it was too high to begin with. Microsoft was right to walk away and will get a second chance at a lower price before the end of 2008. Besides for what they were willing to pay, they could propably get more for the money with different acquistions. In the end, Jerry loses big time.

I,m just disgusted with the whole situaton. Idiots!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Balmer should have offered much less for his first bid for Yahoo. The market said 19 a share.. he should have offered 22.. Then he would have had some working room for 31 a share.. When you go to a garage sale do you ask for a lower price than what you really would pay so that you have some room for negotiation? I always ask lower. Anyways, Yahoo at 31 was way too much money. A bad buy. Yahoo will be out of business in 5 years.

ok... I read VW... but you can't be serious to include it as a "reporting" source here...

I would praise Ballmer for having the guts to walk away from a deal he thinks isn't a good one. Too many times, acquirers fall in love with a target and pay too much. Yang is playing a game of chicken here asking for a premium so rich that the deal was destined to fall apart. Let him stew in his own Yahoo and manage his way to better performance if he can.

Yahoo is long past its prime and going no place. Microsoft can do better than throw good money after bad.

Look, Yahoo has put a ton of money into it's business lately, and that is what they are basing their value on. Now they have to prove they can make money on those investments. I think Yang knows what he is doing, but if he's wrong, he will have hell to pay. I think it's only fair to give him the chance to prove what he says before hanging him out to dry.

There is only one way to look at Mr. Ballmer, by the most important facts. 1) MSFT has been producing 4.5% ave. in the pst 10 years, during bull market: pretty bad. 2) MSFT has no real Internet-related presence as the world's largest software company, although they killed Netscape, had virtual monopoly on the browser market, spent a fortune on buying other companies and in-house development. Still, MSFT is not a leader and not even successful follower: very bad. 3) MSFT has lost control over the quality of core product, the OS: Vista (10 billion dollars, 5 years development): very very very bad. At the end of the day, I don't see how can a CEO survive all these, even with a company with the deepest cash reserve.

As a Microsoft shareholder, glad the deal didn't get done, a bad idea from the start. Hope Ballmer isn't so obsessed with it he goes back and tries again, that would be a REALLY bad idea.

Perhaps a smarter play for MSFT would have been to develop cloud computing apps (as Henry mentioned) and make a deal with Yahoo! regarding same. This would have strengthened YHOO with something other than search and insulated MSFT from more cries of monopoly in OS and office apps while essentially giving them just that. Plus they could optimize the cloud components for Windows/IE as they already do with their own apps, only again remain insulated from anti trust. It isn't about money, it is too much ego in both Ballmer and Yang. Neither understands the word 'Partner'.

Ballmer is a horrible CEO for shareholders in any case. Stop has not made any progress since he became CEO. FIRE BALLMER.

this is how things get done playing hardball, ballmer and his bankers are smart cuase angry stock holders is the best pressure you can put to mr yang and company yang already said tonight he is willing to renegotiate and tomorrow 5.30 am he wil meet with his directives to close the last details of his desperate run for a sale . the end . msft will buy yahoo and no more than 31 any one who sold yahoo at a loss today shouldnt be investing. you should be buying !!!!!

someone said here yahoo will be in the teens by summer yahoo wont exist in the summer it will be microsoft (the new owner) 500 MILLION USERS AND IT IS NOT BALLMER EGO OR FIGHTING THE LOST BATTLE TO GOOGLE IT IS A LOT OF FRERAKING MONEY !!!! AND A GOOD BRAND FOR MSFT MAKES PERFECT SENSE MSFT BUYING YAHOO AND REMEMBER DEAL WILL GET DONE IN MAY 2008 NO MORE THAN 31 DLLS (HOPE IS 33) SHOULDNT BE OWN YAHOO AND BOUGHT MORE TODAY AT 23.50 WOULD BUY MORE TOMORROW IF IT FALLS THING IS TOMORROW WILL BE CLOSER TO 25.50-26.00

Good job Balmer, wise choice to walk away.

Emotions & Biases (for those who cant think of Microsoft beyond the words "Evil Empire"). The merger would have made simple strategic sense. MSFT + YHOO stands a much better chance in the online advertizing game against GOOG than either of them alone. Jerry Yang and the Yahoo board owe their shareholders a viable growth plan that would peg them at $33/share. With GOOG being the juggernaut in online advertising this is going to be increasingly difficult.

Microsoft is working towards the real future of the wbe not html-hackery and adspots. It'll come down to who has thought about helping the most people. Google is a verb for searching, but not a platform for software. Yahoo has always been an index with stuff glued & strapped to it. However, MSN and Live are a network of proven technologies and channels taken to the web and positioned nicely for web 2.0 and beyond. Have no fear, hackery's end is near. And thanks to Stevie B's move, I can snatch up some Yahoo for proobably less than pre-MS-offering prices by end of week ; )