Microsoft-Yahoo deal to have antitrust probe

Advertising and search alliance between Microsoft and Yahoo is under scanner

The US Department of Justice is looking into the advertising and search alliance between Microsoft and Yahoo, the companies said Friday.

Yahoo and Microsoft, which trail a distant second and third respectively to Google in the internet search market, announced their deal in late July in a bid to combine forces and challenge the web giant.

Under the arrangement, Microsoft will provide search and related advertising tools on Yahoo's pages, in return for a 12-percent revenue cut during the first five years of the deal. Yahoo estimates the pact will add $500 million to annual operating income while cutting capital expenses by $200 million. READ MORE>>>

Stocks slump on Yahoo

Stocks slipped Wednesday, as investors soured on news that Yahoo was partnering with Microsoft and mulled a weaker-than-expected reading on durable goods orders.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost 46 points, or 0.5% around two hours into the session. The S&P 500 (SPX) index fell 6 points, or 0.7%. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) gave up 11 points, or 0.6%.

In addition to the day's news, Wall Street was also vulnerable to a pullback in the wake of a big two-week rally that lifted the Dow and S&P 500 by more than 11% and the Nasdaq by 12%.

The rally was sparked by a series of better-than-expected quarterly results. But with more than half of the S&P 500 companies yet to report, investors are showing a little caution.

Microsoft-Yahoo: The tech bellwethers have finally completed a 10-year search deal that takes aim at Google's dominance in the online market.

Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500) will use and promote Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500)'s Bing search engine on its site. In exchange, the company will keep 88% of the revenue from all search ad sales for the first five years. Yahoo will also have the right to sell ads on some Microsoft sites.

However, investors expressed some disappointment that Yahoo will not receive an upfront payment, sending its shares down by 11%.

Microsoft attempted to buy Yahoo outright for $47.5 billion last year, but was rebuffed by the company. Microsoft shares gained 1% Wednesday.

Google "interested" in Microsoft-Yahoo deal

Search engine giant Google Inc said it was "interested" in Microsoft's 10-year search deal with Yahoo (YHOO.O: Quote, Profile, Research) announced on Wednesday, adding that competition was usually good for online users.

"There has traditionally been a lot of competition online, and our experience is that competition brings about great things for users," said Google spokesman Adam Kovakovich.

"We're interested to learn more about the deal," he said in an emailed statement.

Google made a search ad deal with Yahoo in June 2008 but scrapped it because of objections from the Justice Department.

Advertisers had hotly opposed it, fearing Google and Yahoo's dominance of the market could mean higher prices. Yahoo initially struck the deal with Google as a way to fend off an unsolicited takeover bid from Microsoft.

Microsoft had lobbied hard against the Google/Yahoo partnership.

Reuters

माइक्रोसॉफ्‍ट कार्पोरेशन और याहू गूगल के खिलाफ एकजुट

दुनिया में सॉफ्टवेयर दिग्गज कंपनी माइक्रोसॉफ्‍ट कार्पोरेशन और याहू प्रतिद्वंद्वी सर्च इंजन गूगल इंक के खिलाफ लामबंदी करते हुए 'ऑनलाइन रिसर्च एवं विज्ञापन भागीदारी' पर सहमति जताई है।
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पूरे मामले से परिचित सूत्रों का दावा है कि इस संबंध में आधिकारिक घोषणा अगले 24 घंटों के भीतर कर दी जाएगी।

सूत्रों के अनुसार माइक्रोसॉफ्‍ट इसके लिए याहू को कोई भुगतान नहीं करेगा। समझौते के अनुसार दोनों कंपनियाँ प्राप्त राजस्व पर भागेदारी करेगी। हालाँकि याहू और माइक्रोसॉफ्‍ट ने इस संबंध में फिलहाल टिप्पणी करने से इनकार कर दिया है। दोनों कंपनियाँ कई महीनों से ऑनलाइन मार्केट पर बातचीत कर रही थी, जिससे पर गूगल का पूरी तरह से कब्जा है।

माइक्रोसॉफ्‍ट ने पिछले साल याहू का अधिग्रहण करने का प्रयास किया था, लेकिन उसके 47.5 अरब डॉलर के प्रस्ताव को याहू निदेशक मंडल ने ठुकरा दिया। इसके बाद याहू ने गूगल के साथ ऑनलाइन रिसर्च का करार किया, जो नियामक संस्था की जाँच में फँस गया।

माइक्रोसॉफ्‍ट और याहू के प्रस्तावित समझौते के मुताबिक माइक्रोसॉफ्‍ट का नयस बिंग सर्च इंजन याहू पर की गई खोज को गति देगा, जबकि याहू विज्ञापन के प्रबंध में माइक्रोसॉफ्‍ट की प्रौद्योगिकी का इस्तेमाल करेगा।

Microsoft-Yahoo Deal

Yahoo, Microsoft reach search and ad partnership
Internet search firm Yahoo and software giant Microsoft have reached a 10-year deal in which they hope to tackle the online dominance of Google, media reports said Wednesday.

Under the terms of the deal, Yahoo will use Microsoft's new search engine on its sites and handle some advertising sales for Microsoft. The two companies will share search-related advertising revenue.

"This agreement comes with boatloads of value for Yahoo, our users, and the industry, and I believe it establishes the foundation for a new era of Internet innovation and development," Yahoo Chief Executive Officer Carol Bartz was quoted as saying by the Wall Street Journal.

Google controls some 65 percent of the US Internet search market, with Yahoo ranked a distant second with 19.6 percent and Microsoft third with 8.4 percent.

Microsoft almost bought Yahoo for $47.5 billion last year, but the move was scuttled at the last minute by Yahoo co-founder and chief executive Jerry Yang, who later resigned following widespread criticism.

Microsoft has since refused to revive the buyout offer, but Yang's successor, Bartz, confirmed in May that the two companies were holding talks on search collaboration.

The agreement would come just weeks after Microsoft launched its new search engine, Bing, which has been widely praised as a worthy competitor to Google.