Microsoft to Yahoo - 3 Weeks and Counting....

By Li Evans

Apparently the line has been drawn in the sand by Microsoft's Steve Balmer in a letter sent to Yahoo (YHOO) today.  That line is three weeks to see some kind of progress in Microsoft's (MSFT) bid to take over Yahoo!

"...If we have not concluded an agreement within the next three weeks, we will be compelled to take our case directly to your shareholders, including the initiation of a proxy contest to elect an alternative slate of directors for the Yahoo! board."

It seems that Balmer's become a bit impatient, feeling that they've gotten no where in the past two month's since hostile bid of $44.6 billion wasn't recieved with joyous shouts from the board of Yahoo!  But who can blame Yahoo! for dragging their feet.  Really now, would you want to see your search engine company swallowed whole by a mega-corporation who can't get their own search engine right?  A company who can't make an operating system that doesn't make people's face contort in all sorts of odd ways when they realize they have no choice but to "upgrade".  I know I'd be putting off having to deal with it.

I've had a few discussions with colleagues in the industry about the "impending" Micro-hoo merger.  Honestly - this whole subject makes me sad.  Microsoft has a really tough time getting anything right, and they constantly stumble when it comes to buying companies and incorporating them into the behemoth that is Microsoft.  Yahoo's done some awesome things in the social media space in the past 12 months, it makes things feel exciting for the future, however, I'm afraid that once Microsoft comes in it'll be bye bye social media.

Wish there was a different "suitor" for Yahoo!, then there wouldn't be this big black pit of despair feeling in my stomach when I think about Yahoo!