Yahoo: We’re Through! No, wait, come back!
Microhoo
The Microsoft-Yahoo drama isn’t over yet. There’s a possible deal to be done in the form of Yahoo outsourcing or selling its search business to Microsoft.
At the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference in San Francisco on Wednesday, Yahoo CFO Blake Jorgensen gave the audience reason to believe the search company is still open to negotiation.
“Key to any deal we might do would be full access to the data for intent,” Jorgensen said. “We’re not opposed to doing a deal that would maximize the business one way or the other, be it a partnership or a sale.”
On Thursday, a Yahoo filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission revealed that Jorgensen is leaving the company. Yahoo said it has begun a search for a new chief financial officer.
Microsoft Wants In
Yahoo execs aren’t the only ones leaving the door open. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer on Tuesday indicated that his company is open to discussions about a search deal. Microsoft views Yahoo’s search assets as a way to accelerate its position in the marketplace and better compete with Google.
Yahoo’s Must-Haves
“The key piece of all of this in my mind is the notion that Yahoo would still get access to the search-query data that would then enable them to target display ads,” said Greg Sterling, principal analyst at Sterling Market Intelligence.
The Search Retargeting product is a potentially effective offering, Sterling said, but if Yahoo outsources search and doesn’t have access to the search-query data, it would undermine this new approach. As Sterling sees it, Jorgensen’s statement about “full access to data” suggests that if Yahoo can get the kind of information it needs from Microsoft, a deal might be possible.
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