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One thing's for sure... this news is great for startups! Having MS and Y! combined would have reduced the number of exit points for startups. Also, it would hav
by nickb 19y ago
One thing's for sure... this news is great for startups! Having MS and Y! combined would have reduced the number of exit points for startups. Also, it would have resulted in massive layoffs which would have further reduced the number of acquisitions that they would have made as a combined company. At least now you still have three major players to negotiate with.
- tptacek 19y agoMaybe. But the other way to look at it is, MSFT has an NIH culture and isn't a prolific acquirer; MSFT-YHOO combined could have produced more acquisitions than MSFT and YHOO apart.
- phaedrus 19y agoI don't follow your logic: if Microsoft has an NIH culture why would the combined Microsoft+Yahoo do more acquistions than Yahoo did independently? Remember who would be consuming who here. Isn't it more likely that the larger Microsoft would replace Yahoo's culture than it would be that Yahoo's culture would mollify Microsoft's?
- tptacek 19y agoAcquiring cultures get co-opted by their acquired companies all the time; think VW and Audi. In this case, a much-needed culture shock to Redmond was almost an explicit perk of the deal for MSFT. It's not hard for me to imagine that a MSFT with a revitalized web strategy could go on to acquire more companies than they will on their own.