“This is a strategic offer by a cash rich company going through menopause and looking to blossom in its next phase of life.”
– Herb Greenberg, MarketWatch

“Here’s the ironic part: The 2 most visible losers in the search area may be getting together — and somehow, that’s worth 150 point swing to the Dow futures.”
– Barry Ritholtz, The Big Picture

“For Yahoo shareholders, the message is clear: Take the money and run. The message is also clear for Microsoft shareholders: The onus remains on Redmond to sell, sell, sell its case. This has the feel of AOL/Time Warner 2.0 until proven otherwise.”
– Dennis Berman, Deal Journal

“Given the plunge in Yahoo stock and the prospect of a damaging recession this year, if now isn’t the right time, it’s hard to imagine what is.”
– Colin Barr, Fortune Daily Briefing

“We all knew this was coming. Yahoo! was cheap. Too cheap. And a mess. Rats were leaving the sinking ship en masse. It was not sustainable. Something had to happen.”
– Fred Wilson,A VC

“With it’s I-shall-have-it bid for the troubled Internet giant, Microsoft has made a bold, slightly insane lunge to ensure that it is not sidelined in war with Google to control the Internet. You have to guess the phones were ringing at Google HQ this morning, as other companies-from News Corp. to eBay to Comcast are trying to figure out how to make a competing bid to the $31-per-share offer Microsoft lobbed today. The obvious scenario: That Google would guarantee billions of dollars of revenues from search monetization for another company, so it could enter the race to grab one of the most trafficked sites on the Web.”
– Kara Swisher, Boomtown

“It’s a shotgun wedding, and Google’s holding the shotgun.”
– Bryan Stolle, Partner, Mohr Davidow Ventures

“In general, cross-organizational cooperation has not been a strength of Microsoft, but with barbarians like Google at the gate, it might be time to break down some silos.”
– Forrester’s Rob Koplowitz and Kyle McNabb