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Techmology Bits
MicroHoo or YahooSoft? You Make the Call.
Author: Jeremy Scott1 Feb
Microsoft has a crush. On Yahoo. And their in the courting phase, so Microsoft is sending flowers and candies and standing outside Yahoo’s window holding a boom-box that plays Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes.”
In case you’re not following me: Microsoft has made a takeover offer to purchase Yahoo for $44.6 Billion.
Wowzers. That’s a lot of cash. More than I’ve got lying around. This dwarfs Google’s purchase of YouTube for $1.6 Billion. (Also, how weird is it to read a story about a possible Yahoo takeover on a Yahoo News page?) Will the new company be called MicroHoo or YahooSoft? You make the call. But the thought of a possible Microsoft Yahoo merger sort of blows my mind.
Who knows if Yahoo is going to take the offer. They did just have to lay off about 1,000 employees, so I’m sure they’ll consider it. This article has a copy of the letter Microsoft sent to Yahoo’s board of directors. Here’s an excerpt:
“We believe this proposal represents a unique opportunity to create significant value for Yahoo!’s shareholders and employees, and the combined company will be better positioned to provide an enhanced value proposition to users and advertisers. We hope that you and your Board share our enthusiasm, and we look forward to a prompt and favorable reply.”
Well that sounds like one of the sweetest, most romantic suggestions I’ve ever heard.
And think about the kind of super competitor to Google that would be created by a Microsoft/Yahoo merger–I’m talking in terms of search here. Their collective marketshare, customer base, and expertise would combine to form the first serious challenge to Google’s dominance in years. It would allow them to innovate instead of just always following Google’s lead. So for that reason, I’m all for it. Competition is good for the marketplace; it makes companies work harder and perform better.
Stay tuned for more information on this possible purchase. Like papparazzi on the Hollywood streets we’ll be following this potential coupling of two of the big three web/search giants. Microsoft has gotten down on bended knee and is now nervously awaiting the blushing Yahoo’s answer. Will it be “Yes” or “No?” Are Microsoft and Yahoo getting married? Oh–and will it be MicroHoo or YahooSoft? Because that’s almost as important as whether or not the merger goes through. Almost.
2 Responses for "MicroHoo or YahooSoft? You Make the Call."
I am the owner of the domain http://www.yahoosoft.co.uk currently selling software from that site.
Anyhow now i have the plug out the way. Where would i stand if they decide to call the merger yahoosoft, could they do a statutary purchase or could i milk em for a few quid
Or of course, they could just sue the ass off me
rgds
I think you’re fine for several reasons. The most important one is that if this merger goes through, it’s going to be called Microsoft. That’s because this is really much more like a hostile takeover than a merger. I think Microsoft would keep their own name, and possibly rebrand the Yahoo properties (or keep them as Yahoo properties). I really don’t see this purchase resulting in an entirely new company with an entirely new name.
However, if they did name it YahooSoft, I still think you’re fine, because you regsitered the domain before the merger took place…meaning that there currently is no such thing as YahooSoft. One can’t go around naming new companies and then suing people who already owned those domain names. The only issue they might argue is that your domain has “Yahoo” in it…which is clearly their mark and property. So they theoretically might argue that you’re infringing.
But I think you’re safe…and you’re probably seeing a traffic spike these last few days as well, eh? Thanks for stopping by and saying hello!
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