Google Trying to Block Microsoft Takeover of Yahoo

Why would Google be wasting their time trying to block the Microsoft / Yahoo deal? We as consumers need another search solution and another good PPC search option other then Google. Google has been buying up companies left and right and there hasn’t be any issues with that. I was really excited about this news since I have been a little dissappointed with both providers lately. Microsoft needs more search volume and Yahoo needs more eyeballs for their portal.

It has been interesting seeing both portals grow over the past 5 or so years with two different strategies. Yahoo has opted to buy companies like Flickr, Blue Lithium, del.icio.us, Overture, Musicmatch and other websites that offer complimentary services that Yahoo decided not to build. MSN instead decided to partner with sites to offer products and services like CitySearch for City Guides, Match.com for Dating & Personals and Career Builder for their Jobs channel. MSN recently purchased aQuantive, Inc. for $6 billion to extend their ad network with Atlas, DrivePM and the Avenue A / Razorfish ad agency. They were already pretty aligned with aQuantive using them to serve up ads on their performance network. I hope that the Microsoft / Yahoo deal goes through as it will streamline a ton of inefficiencies that both Yahoo and Microsoft have had in Advertising. Yahoo has been a weak publisher to deal with on the display media side of things and MSN has been weak in the search side of the biz.

By ANDREW ROSS SORKIN AND MIGUEL HELFT THE NEW YORK TIMES

Standing between a marriage of Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo may be the technology giant that has continually outsmarted them: Google.

· What would stay, what would go if Yahoo takes Microsoft’s offer?
In an unusually aggressive effort to prevent Microsoft from moving forward with its $44.6 billion hostile bid for Yahoo, Google emerged over the weekend with plans to play the role of spoiler.

Publicly, Google came out against the deal, contending in a statement that the pairing, proposed by Microsoft on Friday in the form of a hostile offer, would pose potential threats to competition that need to be examined by policymakers around the world.

Privately, Google went much further. Its chief executive, Eric Schmidt, placed a call to Yahoo’s chief, Jerry Yang, offering the company’s help in fending off Microsoft, possibly in the form of a partnership between the companies, people briefed on the call said.

Yahoo declined to comment Sunday. Microsoft said, as it did Friday when it made the bid, that the merger would lead to more, not less, competition.

“The combination of Microsoft and Yahoo will create a more competitive marketplace by establishing a compelling No. 2 competitor for Internet search and online advertising,” Brad Smith, Microsoft’s general counsel, said in a statement. “The alternative scenarios only lead to less competition on the Internet.”