Deals

A few days after the seeming culmination of its failed bid to acquire Yahoo for $47.5 billion, Microsoft appears to be contemplating an entirely new Web 2.0 strategy: a partner-free, organic approach to besting Google. The news was delivered by none other than Chairman Bill Gates: "Now at this point...

Sprint will merge its broadband wireless operations with WiMax firm Clearwire in a multifaceted deal that will create a US$14.5 billion venture to expand high-speed wireless connectivity across the U.S. The joint venture will seek to bring WiMax-based high-speed Internet access to 140 million people...

The collapse of this weekend's negotiations between Microsoft and Yahoo looked like game over. When the news first broke that Microsoft was walking away from its $44 billion bid, it seemed as though Redmond was the loser: It had tried a high-stakes, high-profile acquisition gambit and failed. Its d...

Germany-based Deutsche Telekom could take over the top spot in the U.S. wireless telephone market if reports of its potential bid for Sprint Nextel prove true. The company may place an offer on slumping Sprint within the next few days. Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile USA is currently the No. 4 wireless ...

The stock market is making its after-the-fact adjustment to the end of the Microsoft-Yahoo saga, which culminated this weekend. After last minute negotiations failed, Microsoft walked away from its bid to acquire Yahoo for slightly more than its original offer of $33 per share. To recap: Yahoo CEO J...

A closely watched meeting of the Microsoft board of directors has reportedly ended with CEO Steve Ballmer given the authorization -- and possibly the extra cash -- needed to do what it takes to get the Yahoo acquisition done or decide to drop it. Microsoft's board met Wednesday evening in Redmond, W...

Internet service provider and Classmates.com parent United Online has agreed to acquire floral vendor FTD Group for about US$800 million. United Online's offer of $15.08 per share is about a 12 percent premium on FTD's closing price of $13.50 on the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday. As part of the de...

Intel has signed a multiyear agreement with supercomputer vendor Cray. The deal gives microchips from Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel an avenue into Cray supercomputer systems that serve some of the most highly advanced computing applications in the government, military and engineering sectors. The ...

Microsoft's three-week deadline for Yahoo to initiate formal talks about a merger has passed, putting the software giant in the position of having to decide how aggressive to get in its bid to take over the Web portal. The three-week deadline that CEO Steve Ballmer set in a letter to Yahoo earlier i...

Microsoft's Q3 earnings report is a mixed bag: Net income beat Wall Street expectations by 2 cents, and the company's projections for fiscal 2009 look solid. However, its Windows and Office sales were muted, and its outlook for the current quarter is disappointing. The result, perhaps not surprising...

Well, Blockbuster has finally done it. After years of simply copying the Netflix business practices, it's definitely done something that Netflix is probably never going to do -- offer to buy Circuit City. I find Blockbuster's actions to be confusing and inconsistent. In their last quarterly call, Bl...

Yahoo posted a healthy rise in profits for Q1, an increase fueled in large part by a $401 million gain in the initial public offering of China's Alibaba.com. Net income rose to $542.2 million -- or 37 cents per diluted share -- from 2007 Q1's $142.4 million, or 10 cents per diluted share. The compan...

Sunnyvale, Calif.-based network security company Blue Coat Systems has reached an agreement to purchase Cupertino, Calif.-based bandwidth management company Packeteer for approximately $268 million, or $7.10 per share -- a 15 percent premium on Packeteer's closing price Friday of $6.18. The acquisit...

Take-Two Interactive Software on Friday slammed Electronic Arts' lower bid for the company. EA on Thursday decreased its offer by 26 cents per share after Take-Two shareholders voted more shares for its top management, ZelnickMedia, at their annual meeting. EA also extended its tender offer by a mon...

Brushing aside concerns about a drop in paid click rates and sliding past estimates, Google posted results Thursday showing not only that it remains king of the online advertising space but that it can continue to grow sales and profits in uncertain economic times. Revenue at the search giant rose 4...