Technology, Venture Capital, Private Equity

Looks like the business world in the US  has taken a penchant for frenzied activity over the weekends.  If it was the Bear Stearns episode a few weekends back, it was the Microhoo – will they, won’t they saga unfolding in all its drama last weekend finally ending pretty unventfully with leaders of both companies calling off the deal and shooting out missives intended to give the impression that the outcome was in the best interest of its stakeholders after all.
And I should admit, I got this one wrong. Given MS’s dislike for being an also ran in any area of high priority for them, and Y!’s own trouble in getting its house in order, I had thought that there was no other choice, but for them to finally come together. I had dismissed the noises made by the managements of the two companies in the interim to be just posturing for valuation negotiations. And that indeed may still be the case.  In my assessment, the companies will probably keep the discussions going in the background (albeit quitely) and may just spring a surprise by announcing a deal some day when nobody was expecting one. The fact that the deal [fell apart] only on valuations (and even here, the gap doesn’t seem unbridgeable) indicates the willingness of both parties to have a discussion in principle.  However, there is a huge joker in the pack, and that is AOL.  If either MS or Y! decide to acquire AOL, all bets would be off.  Can’t wait to see how this game is going to unfold in the near future. Expect a whole lot of twists and turns in this tale before we get to the end.