As the news about Microsoft’s offer to purchase Yahoo! went around, the search engine industry was inundated with the buzz and speculations.
Though pronouncing the bid from the Redmond giant as unsolicited, Yahoo! is taking the offer seriously and formally evaluating the proposal. “…the Board of Directors will evaluate this proposal carefully and promptly in the context of Yahoo!’s strategic plans and pursue the best course of action to maximize long-term value for shareholders.” came the official response from Yahoo!
While Yahoo! Evaluates the proposal, Google expectedly appears to be unnerved by this unprecedented move from Microsoft. It has gone ahead to term the bid from Microsoft as hostile, though it begs the question for who?
Google response points to the “The openness of the Internet” being at stake and that’s what enabled Google and Yahoo! to be born and established. “It’s about preserving the underlying principles of the Internet: openness and innovation.”
Google expresses its fears about Microsoft repeating the monopolistic maneuvers of the past, “Could Microsoft now attempt to exert the same sort of inappropriate and illegal influence over the Internet that it did with the PC? While the Internet rewards competitive innovation, Microsoft has frequently sought to establish proprietary monopolies — and then leverage its dominance into new, adjacent markets.”
A couple other concerns by Googl include, “Could the acquisition of Yahoo! allow Microsoft — despite its legacy of serious legal and regulatory offenses — to extend unfair practices from browsers and operating systems to the Internet?” Further, “Could a combination of the two take advantage of a PC software monopoly to unfairly limit the ability of consumers to freely access competitors’ email, IM, and web-based services?”
The questions Google thinks need to be considered by policymakers and customers. Apart from the societal reasons, it appears that Google has fears of its own to oppose the bid, amidst its Q4 performance not quite meeting the expectations of the Wall Street.
