“Sleepless in Sunnyvale”: Amusing actors hobbled by weak script
When last we tuned in on the romantic romp that is Microsoft’s pursuit of hard-to-get Yahoo (see “Jerry to Steve: You know, if you weren’t such a cheap bully, we might get along” and “Yahoo-Microsoft relationship gets a little triangular“), Jerry (or Jerri) had started going out with Eric in order to make Steve jealous (and more generous). Now we’ve reached the scene where Jerry (or Jerri) and Eric are in the bedroom next to Steve’s, both fully dressed but banging the headboard against the wall and dramatically moaning, “Don’t stop! Don’t stop!” That’s gotta be driving Steve crazy.
Apparently Yahoo’s planned two-week test of incorporating Google’s ads with its search results was like one of those drug trials where the results are so remarkable that the studies are cut short in favor of immediate use. Sources told the Wall Street Journal that after a mere week or so, the bump in the numbers was encouraging enough to talk seriously about a closer relationship — a deal that, according to Citigroup Global Markets analyst Mark Mahaney, could increase Yahoo’s cash flow by more than $1 billion a year. But that’s assuming such a deal would get past federal regulators, especially with Microsoft yelling loudly from the sidelines. The Journal’s sources say the companies are trying to figure out a structure for dodging those considerable hurdles, including “limiting the partnership to specific groups of search queries or regions, for example,” but the mind boggles at the Rube Goldberg machinery that they’d have to dazzle the antitrust lawyers with.
While some observers think the prospects for such a deal and the resulting increase in Yahoo’s value may be enough to turn shareholder sentiment away from the Microsoft deal and make the acquisition too pricey for Redmond’s taste, the broader sentiment is that a tie-up will never fly with the feds, that this is just another little part of the dance, and that one way or another, Microsoft will be going home with Yahoo.
I graduated from Sunnyvale High School back in the late 60’s when all these companies were working out of a garage. Back when “Pong” was the first video game and “The Was” was still doing “Dial a Joke”. We use to play football against Homestead High School and our 40 year high school reunion is coming up. Sigh. Where have all the years gone? If we could only go back and buy thousands of shares of National Semiconductor or maybe Intel we’d all be sitting pretty. Here’s to you Microsoft and Apple. Without you what would we do? I sure miss the good ole’days when we were up to our necks in LED and LCD watches. Semiconductors galore. The valley was still full of fruit trees. The glory days. Congrats to the Class of 1968 and the Sunnyvale High School Jets. Go team go!