San Francisco- Shares of the internet company Yahoo rose sharply Friday following reports of a buyout offer from Microsoft that could be worth as much as 50 billion dollars. In morning trading, shares of Yahoo rose 19 per cent to 33.44 dollars, the biggest jump in four and a half years, after the New York Post said Microsoft wants to buy the company.
The paper said that Microsoft asked to start talks about a takeover and is working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. on a possible deal.
The Wall Street Journal also reported today that Microsoft and Yahoo explored a combination a year ago and have now renewed talks. The report cited people familiar with the situation.
Microsoft sees the move as its best strategy for countering growing competition from Google, which already dominates lucrative internet search and advertising, and also has developed web-based applications that could challenge Microsoft's Windows and Office software.
If it acquires Yahoo, Microsoft would triple its share of the US search market to 38.4 per cent, rivaling Google's 48.3 per cent, according to ComScore Inc.
Yahoo, based in Sunnyvale, California, has a market value of 38.2 billion dollars, based on its closing price Thursday. But the company has been valued at as much as 50 billion dollars by Wall Street analysts, the New York Post said.
