Blame plentiful in failed Microsoft-Yahoo deal

There was plenty of blame to go around on the msnbc.com board discussing Microsoft’s dropping its bid to acquire Yahoo. A lot of it was aimed at Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and his Yahoo counterpart Jerry Yang. Here’s a sampling of some:

(Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)

Typical
Typical of today's badly run publicly traded companies. Yang can't let go of the company he created. Even though he sold the company to the public, he still believes the company is his and cares not a hair about the shareholders that own the company. — OldSchool101

Internet terrorist
Anyone that thinks a buyout by MS is a good thing should be sent to Gitmo as an Internet terrorist. — helloe

Yang’s shoes
Microsoft called Yahoo's bluff and now Yahoo have to find a way to turn its business around. The company is not going to "go out of business" like the fools on this page say, but it will have to innovate much faster/better than it is now. Put yourself in Yang's shoes – you would want more than the company is worth (he has all the money he needs and shareholder expectations are not reasonable). — bodog121

Mother of all shareholder suits
Bad move for Yahoo, good move for Microsoft. Yahoo is so NOT worth $37 a share (or $33 for that matter). Can't wait until its midsummer, when the stock is $16 a share and they have the mother of all shareholder lawsuits on their hands. — Atlanta Gal

Yahoo board emerges mostly unscathed Pickens rips Yahoo management, dumps shares Yahoo settles with activist investor Carl Icahn Congress holds hearings on Yahoo-Google deal Yahoo spurns Micosoft again as blood boils Microsoft seeking allies for new Yahoo move Yahoo’s board takes its case to shareholders Yahoo shakes up management team

Peeling the onion
I failed to see the synergies that would have flowed from a Microsoft acquisition of Yahoo. The media thought it was sexy because the move would have combined two tech giants but when you peel the onion, that move would have put investors in the house of pain. The cultures are different. In addition, Microsoft has not demonstrated that it has a grasp on the online advertising and portal business model. Finally, none of these companies are committed to the idea that content is king and that for a media play involving the merger of a software company with a search engine to be successful, there has to be commitment to the idea of presenting content via a Yahoo-Microsoft platform that will keep consumers visiting. Yahoo had its chance ten years ago and blew it. — Alton Drew

Microsoft sucks
Microsoft sucks. MS has never created an innovative product, but only copy or buy the competition. Too bad the deal fell through because I love it when large corporations squander their wealth — kinda like Ford and Jaguar. Corporations should switch to open solutions like Open Office. — arthur100

MORE FROM U.S. BUSINESS

U.S. business Section Front

NYC restaurants slammed by financial crisis USA Today price rising to $1 Buffett boosts wealth to top Gates Regulators clear Wells Fargo-Wachovia deal SportsBiz: MLB's dollars per win analysis Citi ends talks, Wells says it will buy Wachovia AIG’s viability in question with new Fed loan Amid crisis, states forced to take ‘drastic action’ National City in talks to sell itself: report Biz Quiz: Which beverage claims ‘drinkability’? U.S. business Section Front   Add U.S. business headlines to your news reader: