The takeover-rumor driven rally in Netflix shares has continued today, as investors debate the potential for an acquisition of the company by Amazon–or Microsoft.
So, I’m skeptical about this, but in the interest of keeping you fully informed, here goes: Salesforce.com (CRM) shares are trading sharply higher today, in a move TheFlyOnTheWall.com asserts is due to “renewed takeover chatter.”
We have seen extensive press coverage of Microsoft’s pursuit of Yahoo over the last few months. However, I have not seen a detailed analysis of how a full hostile takeover might play out–the kind of analysis that you would be receiving if you were a Microsoft or Yahoo board member. So I asked a pair of expert corporate attorneys–Michael Sullivan and Ed Deibert at Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk and Rabkin in San Francisco–to work up such an analysis.
We hear from two sources that News Corp. and Yahoo are still discussing a possible transaction, designed to create an alternative to a Microsoft takeover. (Or at least the appearance of one). News Corp. [owner of Dow Jones, which owns this site--Ed.] declined to comment, and we don’t have details. We do not believe News Corp. is considering an outright acquisition of Yahoo. News Corp. has repeatedly said it’s not interested in buying Yahoo, and it’s hard to see how the company could afford to compete with Microsoft’s resources.
This is a section of the All Things Digital Web site featuring posts from around the Web, from other Dow Jones properties and also original pieces we solicit. The section is now explicitly labeled that it comes "from other Web sites."
We are fully aware of the controversies around how linking and aggregating is done on the Web and we, in no way, are attempting to "scrape" original content created by others. Instead, regarding third-party posts, we are trying to point readers of this site to other posts from around the Web that we admire and are trying to do so in the quickest manner possible.
The Internet is full of terrific content that is not ours and we want to help our readers find it by making editorial suggestions--Look, Mom, no algorithm!--of posts we think are worth their time.
That is why we have made even more changes to Voices to ensure we do this in the most transparent and timely way. While we don't expect that everyone will agree with our policies, we have made changes that reflect our intent in pointing to content outside our site.
So here is exactly what we do: Read more »
Because the site is wholly owned by Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal, we aim to adhere to the journalistic standards of the best of the mainstream media. But, because it is run autonomously as a small online startup, we aim to exhibit the fresh thinking and nimbleness of the best of the new media. We want to be first, and sassy, but also well sourced and accurate. We will offer lots of opinion and analysis, but plenty of fact as well.
D is unlike any other executive conference. Since its debut in 2003, D has brought to life the energy and excitement of the digital revolution in an unscripted, upfront and unparalleled way. Read more »
Don't miss a post! Sign up for our Daily Email and get AllThingsD.com delivered each day.
Get columns, blogs and video from D and All Things Digital on your iPhone. Download now »
