We heard it first on search engine chat

Bill · 2005-12-16, 08:27 PM

Sadly, it looks as tho the early releases of info from MSN, as reported by Reuters, have turned out to be premature. In last minute negotiations Google agreed to buy a Billion dollars worth of AOL stock in order to keep the AOL contract.

As reported in the NY Times:
----------------------------------------------
Rebuffing aggressive overtures from Microsoft, Time Warner has agreed to sell a 5 percent stake in America Online to Google for $1 billion as part of an expanded partnership between AOL, once the dominant company on the Internet, and Google, the current online king.

While the deal terms are largely set, it will not be final until it is ratified by the Time Warner board on Tuesday, according to an executive who was briefed on the negotiations.

The executive said negotiations between the three companies reached a fevered pitch on Thursday night when teams from Google and Microsoft were in separate rooms of the Time Warner Center in Manhattan and executives from the media company walked back and forth between them.

Finally, around 9 p.m., Richard D. Parsons, chief executive of Time Warner told Eric E. Schmidt, chief executive of Google, that he would accept Google's recently sweetened offer. Google, which prides itself on the purity of its search results, agreed to give favored placement to content from AOL throughout its site, something it has never done before.

The deal helps Google fend off what could have been a significant challenge from a combination of AOL and Microsoft and cements its position as far and away the largest seller of search advertising.

According to the executive, Mr. Parsons called Steven A. Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive, this morning to give him the news that the deal that Microsoft had so eagerly sought - and had thought it had won - was going to Google, which it sees as its most potent long-term rival.

Microsoft had proposed that it and AOL form a joint venture to sell advertising on their own sites and eventually on other sites as well. Now Microsoft will compete in the search business as a distant No. 3 behind Yahoo.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/16/te...16cnd-aol.html
------------------------------------------------------

Too bad, it would have been nice to see more challenge to googles dominance - competition between the engines should be good for search engine traffic and profits.

T Pat · 2005-12-20, 01:40 PM

Icahn Attempts To Thwart AOL-Google Deal
by Wendy Davis, Tuesday, Dec 20, 2005 6:00 AM EST
FINANCIER CARL ICAHN MONDAY PUBLICLY warned Time Warner's board of directors against making a potentially "disastrous decision" to sell a stake of AOL to Google. The board is scheduled to meet today to approve a deal hammered out last week to sell 5 percent of AOL to Google for $1 billion. In an open letter to the board, Icahn cautioned against the deal, arguing that it was a mistake to commit AOL to using Google's search engine for the next five years. "I believe it would be a blatant breach of fiduciary duty to enter into an agreement with Google that would either foreclose the possibility of entering into a transaction that would be more beneficial for Time Warner shareholders or make such a transaction more difficult to achieve," he wrote.

Icahn, who currently controls about 3 percent of Time Warner stock, intends to wage a proxy fight at the annual shareholders meeting next year.

Icahn quoted from a recent Goldman Sachs report concluding that eBay or InterActive Corp. would be a better match for AOL than Yahoo!, MSN, or Google.

But a Goldman Sachs report issued Sunday stated that Google's deal with Time Warner to buy a stake in AOL was "a net positive" for Time Warner, Google, and Yahoo! The report stated that the deal potentially helps AOL gain traffic and ad revenue, while it preempts MSN--which had vied for a stake in AOL--from gaining AOL's search users.

A separate Merrill Lynch report issued Monday also struck a somewhat optimistic note. "Assuming final details ... are similar to what has been reported, we would view the agreement as incrementally positive," wrote research analyst Jessica Reif Cohen.

2005-12-20, 01:40 PM	#2
T Pat You can now put whatever you want in this space :) Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Paridise Posts: 3,244	Icahn doesn't like the deal looks like a proxy fight is coming Icahn Attempts To Thwart AOL-Google Deal by Wendy Davis, Tuesday, Dec 20, 2005 6:00 AM EST FINANCIER CARL ICAHN MONDAY PUBLICLY warned Time Warner's board of directors against making a potentially "disastrous decision" to sell a stake of AOL to Google. The board is scheduled to meet today to approve a deal hammered out last week to sell 5 percent of AOL to Google for $1 billion. In an open letter to the board, Icahn cautioned against the deal, arguing that it was a mistake to commit AOL to using Google's search engine for the next five years. "I believe it would be a blatant breach of fiduciary duty to enter into an agreement with Google that would either foreclose the possibility of entering into a transaction that would be more beneficial for Time Warner shareholders or make such a transaction more difficult to achieve," he wrote. Icahn, who currently controls about 3 percent of Time Warner stock, intends to wage a proxy fight at the annual shareholders meeting next year. Icahn quoted from a recent Goldman Sachs report concluding that eBay or InterActive Corp. would be a better match for AOL than Yahoo!, MSN, or Google. But a Goldman Sachs report issued Sunday stated that Google's deal with Time Warner to buy a stake in AOL was "a net positive" for Time Warner, Google, and Yahoo! The report stated that the deal potentially helps AOL gain traffic and ad revenue, while it preempts MSN--which had vied for a stake in AOL--from gaining AOL's search users. A separate Merrill Lynch report issued Monday also struck a somewhat optimistic note. "Assuming final details ... are similar to what has been reported, we would view the agreement as incrementally positive," wrote research analyst Jessica Reif Cohen. __________________ How To Keep An Asshole In Suspense I'll Tell You Later

2005-12-16, 08:27 PM	#1
Bill Selling porn allows me to stay in a constant state of Bliss - ain't that a trip! Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 3,914	Sadly, it looks as tho the early releases of info from MSN, as reported by Reuters, have turned out to be premature. In last minute negotiations Google agreed to buy a Billion dollars worth of AOL stock in order to keep the AOL contract. As reported in the NY Times: ---------------------------------------------- Rebuffing aggressive overtures from Microsoft, Time Warner has agreed to sell a 5 percent stake in America Online to Google for $1 billion as part of an expanded partnership between AOL, once the dominant company on the Internet, and Google, the current online king. While the deal terms are largely set, it will not be final until it is ratified by the Time Warner board on Tuesday, according to an executive who was briefed on the negotiations. The executive said negotiations between the three companies reached a fevered pitch on Thursday night when teams from Google and Microsoft were in separate rooms of the Time Warner Center in Manhattan and executives from the media company walked back and forth between them. Finally, around 9 p.m., Richard D. Parsons, chief executive of Time Warner told Eric E. Schmidt, chief executive of Google, that he would accept Google's recently sweetened offer. Google, which prides itself on the purity of its search results, agreed to give favored placement to content from AOL throughout its site, something it has never done before. The deal helps Google fend off what could have been a significant challenge from a combination of AOL and Microsoft and cements its position as far and away the largest seller of search advertising. According to the executive, Mr. Parsons called Steven A. Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive, this morning to give him the news that the deal that Microsoft had so eagerly sought - and had thought it had won - was going to Google, which it sees as its most potent long-term rival. Microsoft had proposed that it and AOL form a joint venture to sell advertising on their own sites and eventually on other sites as well. Now Microsoft will compete in the search business as a distant No. 3 behind Yahoo. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/16/te...16cnd-aol.html ------------------------------------------------------ Too bad, it would have been nice to see more challenge to googles dominance - competition between the engines should be good for search engine traffic and profits.