Yahoo! to shareholders: we don’t need no stinkin’ Microsoft

February 14, 2008 |

Yahoo! to shareholders: we don’t need no stinkin’ Microsoft

By Triston McIntyre

Yahoo! to shareholders: we don’t need no stinkin’ Microsoft What with all the hubbub about the possibility of Microsoft’s intended purchase of internet giant Yahoo!, many people are wondering why the large company would reject an offer from such a powerful and strong (debatably) source. Yahoo! isn’t one to leave the people that matter, namely the shareholders, in the dark, and wrote a letter that boils down to this: We’re going strong, and just because Microsoft has a bunch of money doesn’t mean we need ‘em.

You can read the complete text of the letter over at SearchEngineWatch, but here’s what you need to know: First, Yahoo! writes fantastic letters that are bound to make any shareholder feel happy about his or her position as an investor. After reading the letter, I was sincerely downcast that I, too, was not a shareholder in such a magnificent and promising company.

Second, that Yahoo!, even without the help of Microsoft, has a lot of marketing strategies and goals that will push the company to greater success in the near future. One thing the letter emphasized was Yahoo!’s focus on reaching the mobile community more effectively; in a world where the pda, iPhone and other handhelds call the shots, Yahoo! is certainly on the right path towards achieving some worthwhile goals.

Thirdly, Yahoo! and its staff have the shareholders at heart, both in the direction the company intends to take and in the careful consideration of mergers, sell-outs, and other financially risky decisions.

All things considered, Yahoo! let its faithful investors know that Microsoft wouldn’t be throwing around a lot of cash and getting its way; money is only money (which Yahoo! isn’t short on itself), and Microsoft won’t be rollin’ into town making demands and pushing peaceful folk around.

I say, good for Yahoo!…! (punctuation rules for an instance like this elude me). I believe Microsoft could only better itself by engaging in such a purchase, but I believe that, just like the Zune, Microsoft really isn’t capable of handling much more than software (which is failing in more than one way right now). Had I been a shareholder in Yahoo! if it had sold to Microsoft, I’d be selling my stock faster than you can say Microsoft Windows ME.