Google co-founder chases Yahoo ad deal
Published: 23 May 2008 08:54 BST
Google co-founder Larry Page has said that he respects Yahoo's struggle to remain independent, and there is still a chance that an advertising deal between the two companies could work.
Speaking at an event Thursday in Washington, DC, Page said a deal could be structured to help Yahoo maintain its independence without violating antitrust laws. Page acknowledged that Google has a significant share of the advertising market, but he said: "There are ways in which to structure a deal with Yahoo that would be reasonable." He added that Yahoo has few desirable alternatives to such a deal.
"Yahoo wants to remain independent," he said. "We support that. On the other hand, they're in a difficult situation."
Google and Yahoo have been discussing an advertising partnership. As part of the deal, Google would supply some text ads alongside Yahoo search results. The companies both seem satisfied with the results from a two-week test. However, a partnership between the two companies has stalled due to antitrust concerns.
Yahoo has also just fended off a takeover bid from Microsoft. Now the software giant is looking at ways to get a smaller stake in Yahoo. At the same time, Yahoo is dealing with pressure from activist Carl Icahn, who believes the company should have taken the Microsoft bid.
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Google has been opposed to Microsoft's bid for Yahoo from the start. Page said that a combined Microsoft and Yahoo would control too much of the market and, as a result, would stifle innovation and slow development of new products and services.
"You can't have one company control 90 percent of the market, especially one that has a history of doing bad stuff," he said.
Page used instant messaging (IM) as an example. He said that, unlike email, which allows people to send and receive messages from different email providers, IM is still closed. For example, Microsoft's Live Messenger does interoperate with Yahoo Messenger, but it doesn't use an open protocol, such as Jabber.
"We think that's stupid," he said. "It doesn't foster competition. If you want good products, you need some degree of openness."
Credit: Google co-founder pushes for Yahoo ad deal from CNET News
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