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News Corp. a Smokescreen; MSFT Drawing Up Terms

Posted Feb 14, 2008 10:44am EST by Sarah Lacy in Investing, Internet, Media, Venture Capital, M and A, IPOs
Related: yhoo, nws, msft

Sorry, Yahoos, the deal with News Corp isn't happening. According to my sources, talk of the talks has been way overblown. Just as Henry and Aaron said this morning, it's a Yahoo negotiating tactic. On the eve of Microsoft's offer, two different private equity groups were preparing their own Yahoo bids and at least one offered its services to News Corp. Murdoch's people said he "wasn't interested."

Separately, another source tells me that Microsoft is so confident it's nearing a price that Yahoo's largest shareholders want -- and Yahoo can't refuse -- that it has already started the regulatory paperwork. This source expects a deal in the $35-per-share range within the next 10 days. Once Steve Ballmer gets the largest institutions on board, all the News Corps in the world can't save Yahoo. It's a volatile market, and Wall Street money managers aren't going to let go of a guaranteed return.

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