Microsoft Buys a Small Company to Acquire Its Cutting-Edge Technology

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace) -- Rather than relying on the development of its own in-house technology, Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) purchased the Israeli company Kidaro Ltd in order to acquire its virtualization technology, The Deal.com reported on Thursday in an online article.

The reportedly $100 million dollar purchase price suggests that Microsoft must have big plans for the use of Kidaro’s technology.

The question of how the two companies entered into negotiations remained unresolved, however.

NewsVisual created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map that shows the existence of a number of personal connections between the current and past members of the leadership teams, including their Board of Directors, of Kidaro and Microsoft.

It’s Now Official: Microsoft Vows to Fight for Yahoo Buyout

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace) -- As the media reported that Yahoo was preparing for layoffs, Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) officially responded to the rejection of its $44.6 billion bid by Yahoo! Inc’s (NASDAQ:YHOO) Board of Directors and vowed to continue its efforts by taking the buyout offer directly to Yahoo’s shareholders.

Microsoft’s response came in the form of a press release posted on its website.

“It is unfortunate that Yahoo! has not embraced our full and fair proposal to combine our companies,” the statement says.

The company suggests that it’s already begun to lay the groundwork for a shareholder fight by suggesting that it’s been in contact with some of the parties:

Media Buzz Suggest that Microsoft Will Fight Yahoo’s Rebuff

Only hours after the Board of Directors of Yahoo Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO) announced its rejection of Microsoft Corp’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) $44.6 billion buyout bid, speculation began to mount in the business news media as to how the folks at Redmond would respond.

For example, the Financial Times reported that the Redmond software titan “is gearing up to take its bid to acquire Yahoo directly to the Silicon Valley company’s shareholders” (read the FT.com article by Chris Nuttall and Richard Waters ).

By mid-afternoon Monday, however, there was still no official word from Microsoft itself on how it would respond to Yahoo’s notice of rejection.

Microsoft’s share price was down from the previous close of $28.56 to $28.21 at the bell (4:00pm ET).

Could Yahoo Be Eyeing Time Warner After Rejecting Microsoft Bid?

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace )-- Yahoo Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO) may have rejected Microsoft Corp’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) unsolicited $44.6 billion takeover bid, but that doesn’t mean that another strategic partnership is out of the question, namely with Time Warner Inc (NYSE: TWX).

Claiming that Microsoft’s offer “substantially undervalues” Yahoo, the company is left with the opportunity to negotiate a better deal out of Microsoft or even another interested party. Insiders say that Yahoo may have reached out to Time Warner's AOL unit, a rumor that has yet to be confirmed by either company.

NewsVisual illustrated the connections to Time Warner that could help Yahoo land a deal with the creation of an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map. A number of direct connections combined with current relationships through common entities could soon lead to a partnership between Yahoo and Time Warner.

Yahoo’s Board of Directors Says No to Microsoft Deal

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace) -- In a tersely worded Monday morning press release, Yahoo! Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO) announced that it was turning down the Microsoft Corp’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) $44.6 billion buyout bid.

Yahoo’s rejection was issued by the company’s Board of Directors.

The bluntly worded press statement said:

“[The] Board of Directors has carefully reviewed Microsoft's unsolicited proposal with Yahoo!'s management team and financial and legal advisors and has unanimously concluded that the proposal is not in the best interests of Yahoo! and our stockholders.”

The market’s response to the Directors’ announcement appeared to be favorable, but it was also somewhat muted, sending its share price up slightly from the previous close of $29.20 to $29.47 in mid-morning trading on Monday (10:43am ET).

NewsVisual decided to create an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map in order to illustrate the business connections of Yahoo’s Board of Directors as a method for assessing their knowledge of business and for determining whether their rejection of Microsoft’s bid reflects the judgment of experienced people.

Yahoo and Softbank Talk Business Regarding Microsoft Bid

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace )-- In the week since Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) made its unsolicited $44.6 billion bid for Yahoo Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO), a number of concerned parties have stepped in to try and stop the deal.

Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) has been public about its worries that a partnership between Microsoft and Yahoo would make Microsoft an all too powerful competitor in online markets, though its doubtful that Google would make a successful counter offer due to regulatory concerns.

The latest to join in Yahoo’s aid is Japanese mobile carrier Softbank Corp. The company’s President, Masayoshi Son, said that he is currently in talks with Jerry Yang, Yahoo’s CEO, about a plan of action regarding Microsoft’s takeover bid. Son denied that Softbank was considering a counter offer for Yahoo, but offered little details as to his role in the talks.

Connections Between Google and Yahoo Create Alliance Against Microsoft

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace )-- Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) may be far from rivaling Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) in a takeover of Yahoo Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO), though that likely won’t stop the web giant from becoming deeply involved in the situation.

No counter offers have yet been made to challenge Microsoft’s unsolicited $44.6 billion bid for Yahoo, which could potentially make the deal a sure thing and boost Microsoft’s web presence as a serious competitor to Google. Due to regulatory concerns, it is doubtful that Google will make a competing offer,  however the company could be strategizing other manuevers to keep Microsoft from acquiring Yahoo.

In order to identify how the companies may be collaborating to challenge Microsoft, NewsVisual created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map of the notable relationships held between key Directors and Executives at Yahoo and Google.

Will Yahoo’s New Chairman Push For A Deal With Microsoft?

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace )-- As Yahoo Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO) decides its next move in light of Friday’s $44.6 billion takeover offer from Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT), the board may be relying heavily on the dealmaking expertise of new its new Chairman, Roy J Bostock.

After being appointed as Chairman of Yahoo on Thursday night, Bostock quickly had to jump into the responsibility of deciding how to responding to Microsoft's offer. Given his past experience in corporate takeovers and sales, the timing of Bostock’s appointment comes just in the nick of time.

An IntellectSpace Knowledge Map created by NewsVisual illustrates the past and current connections that make Bostock a valuable asset to Yahoo in this critical period. He is a Director at Northwest Airlines, which is currently in the middle of deal talks with Delta Airlines, and was also involved in leading companies that were eventually sold to become Bcom3.

Google To Team Up With Yahoo To Challenge Microsoft

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace )-- Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) CEO Eric Schmidt, in an effort to thwart Microsoft Corp’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) takeover attempts of Yahoo Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO), has reached out to Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang.

On Friday, Microsoft made a $44.6 billion bid for Yahoo; an obvious attempt at challenging rival Google’s dominant status in web business. Analysts are doubtful that Google could be interested in its own deal with Yahoo, primarily because of regulatory concerns, though Microsoft shouldn’t consider itself in the clear. Speculation among insiders suggests that Google could use its reach to prevent Microsoft from having an easy time of acquiring Yahoo, by influencing others to make competing offers. A partnership such as this with Google could also help keep Yahoo independent.

Microsoft and Google Exchange Barbs over Yahoo Bid

During the weekend, Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) traded angry statements over last week’s $44.6 billion bid by the latter to buy Yahoo Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO).

Given the fact that the two statements were issued by both companies’ top legal officers, the statements could be interpreted as a harbinger of future court battles between the two technology titans.

Google fired the first shot over the bow on Sunday at 11:45am when it uploaded a press release onto its website:

“Microsoft's hostile bid for Yahoo! raises troubling questions,” wrote Google’s Chief Legal Officer, Senior Vice President David Drummond, in the release.

“This is about more than simply a financial transaction, one company taking over another. It's about preserving the underlying principles of the Internet: openness and innovation,” he added.

Strong Ties May Decide Fate of Deal Between Microsoft and Yahoo

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace)-- Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) on Friday announced that it had made a $44.6 billion offer to buy Yahoo Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO), in what could be the biggest takeover of the year.

The news sent Yahoo’s shares soaring. Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) currently dominates online business services, but a partnership between Microsoft and Yahoo would make for stiff competition.

NewsVisual created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map of the corporate ties shared between key Executives and Directors at Microsoft and Yahoo in order to identify the relationships that may become critical to negations.

One individual who may hold a great deal of sway over the matter is Mary Agnes Wilderotter, a Director at Yahoo. Wilderotter serves as a direct link between the two companies as she was previously a Senior Vice President at Microsoft until 2004.

Multiple Microsoft and Logitech Connections Don’t Necessarily Point to Behind-The-Scenes Deal Talk

Shares of Swiss-based Logitech International jumped Thursday morning as rumors circulate that Microsoft may be pursuing a takeover. No official word has come from either camp, but it hasn’t stopped analyst from speculating what would happen if the world’s largest software company proposed a bid for the world’s largest computer peripherals maker.

On one hand, Microsoft has shown little evidence of interest to take advantage of its corporate status to dominate the PC mice market it currently shares with Logitech. On the other hand, analysts say that Logitech’s accessories would be a compliment to Microsoft’s large Xbox market, which could be a strong motivator behind a deal (see article edited by Andrew Ross Sorkin in The New York Times DealBook). Without confirmation or denial, the buzz continues to surge.

Strong Links Between Microsoft and Viacom May Have Motivated Latest Ad Deal

Did common connection come into play as Microsoft and Viacom ink a $500 million ad deal? That could very well be the case based on the results of an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map. The agreement will have the companies working together on ads and promotions for certain video games and television shows, a move that is projected to do well given the popular media assets of Viacom and Microsoft’s strong industry standing (see article by Dan Frommer in Silicon Alley Insider).

After creating an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map of the common ties between current Senior Executives and Directors of Microsoft and Viacom, NewsVisual found a number of strong connections linking the companies that could have been significant to this partnership.

After the Dow Jones Takeover, Could The New York Times Be Next?

After Rupert Murdoch was able to pull off his $5 billion acquisition of Dow Jones & Company, the hot topic of industry analysts is whether The New York Times Company could be the next target of a takeover. Investors agree that a buyout could happen, though another strong possibility could be an acquisition through a content partnership. Thomas Hull, Chairman of Legendary Pictures, names Comcast, Walt Disney and Microsoft as potential candidates to consider a deal (see article from DealBook). We created IntellectSpace Knowledge Maps of the Times Co’s ties to each of these rumored suitors in the hopes of predicting the company’s next move(Note: the information contained and presented in Knowledge Maps is public information from the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America).

Microsoft: Diversity in Corporate Experience

Microsoft will announce its Q1 results tomorrow (Oct. 25th, 2007), with analysts expecting $.39 profit per share for $12.57 billion in revenue. This comes after better-than-expected global PC sales and the extremely successful debut of Halo 3 for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 (see Brian White’s article from Bloggingstocks.com). Since Microsoft (along with Yahoo!) is currently in a global battle with main rival Google, we were curious as to what kind of experience the Board of Directors at Microsoft had over Yahoo! (see previous NewsVisual article) and Google (see previous NewsVisual article). We were surprised to find that the experience represented on the Board at Microsoft is extremely diverse in two aspects: first, by the number of different industries represented, and second, by the unique mixture of both long-time and relatively new Directors (Note: the information contained and presented in Knowledge Maps is public information from the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America).

Paul Allen Tied to Microsoft China CEO and NBA

Did Paul Allen help the NBA land the star CEO of Microsoft China? Given Paul Allen’s ties to both Microsoft and the NBA this is quite possible. Microsoft China CEO Tim Chen resigned and became the new CEO of NBA China, which according to the NBA is its fastest growing market (see article from Seeking Alpha). An IntellectSpace Knowledge Map shows Paul Allen has ties to both Microsoft and the NBA.

Connections Suggest Microsoft and Motorola as Potential RIM Buyers

Speculation is surfacing that Research in Motion, the maker of BlackBerry, could be the target of a takeover by Microsoft Corp. Motorola is also rumored to be a possible buyer (see article from Reuters). In order to determine how RIM’s connections may affect the outcome of a deal, we mapped the company’s relationships to both Microsoft and Motorola. The results may give RIM room to be picky at the presence of takeover interest.

In this first IntellectSpace Knowledge Map illustrating RIM’s ties to Microsoft, we can see that Robin Bienfait (Chief Information Officer of RIM) and John Wetmore (Director of RIM) share numerous connections to numerous past and present Executives and Directors at Microsoft. One of the more noteworthy connections links Bienfait to Charles Noski (Director at Microsoft). Bienfait and Noski previously held Executive positions at the same time at AT&T. Microsoft could take advantage of this relationship in pursuing RIM.

Click here for an interactive version of this IntellectSpace Knowledge Map (Internet Explorer browsers only): http://nv.intellectspace.com/ispace/GuestMonitor.aspx?id=5343f534-9f36-4b42-9d19-6f86c13ea9b0

Motorola also seems to have a fair shot at securing a deal with RIM. David Dorman (Director of Motorola) can also be linked to Bienfait through AT&T, where he served as the CEO/Chairman from 2000 to 2005. Beinfait was with AT&T until 2006, so it is likely that the two are well acquainted.

These connections could be useful not only for Microsoft and Motorola in trying to work a deal, but they may also allow RIM some flexibility in choosing its buyer.

Click here for an interactive version of this IntellectSpace Knowledge Map (Internet Explorer browsers only): http://nv.intellectspace.com/ispace/GuestMonitor.aspx?id=f2fb1ac2-ba5b-4750-a667-cf5d9284fb1a

Patton Boggs Attracts Microsoft as New Client, Possibly with Help of Common Connection

Microsoft is on edge over Google’s acquisition of DoubleClick and has hired Patton Boggs LLP to lobby an investigation of the deal’s implications in consumer privacy and online ad competition (see article from Yahoo! Finance). We created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map of the ties between Microsoft and Patton to determine how relationships affected the law firm’s ability to land such a high profile client.

As illustrated on the Knowledge Map, a number of ties are present between Microsoft and Patton, however a current connection exists that might have been significant in forming this partnership. Rodney E. Slater (Partner at Patton) is currently Senior Vice President at GlobalOptions Group, where Daniel Burstein serves as a Director. Throughout his career, Burstein has served as a consultant to many of the world’s largest companies, including Microsoft. It is not unlikely that the two have conversed about Microsoft’s desire to challenge Google. If so, this connection may have proven useful for Patton in attracting Microsoft as a client.

Click here for an interactive version of this IntellectSpace Knowledge Map (Internet Explorer browsers only): http://nv.intellectspace.com/ispace/GuestMonitor.aspx?id=f0689f91-f0a4-4d2a-973d-c54b3660c4b7

Microsoft Wins the Advantage with Ties to EA

Microsoft has just inked a deal with Electronic Arts for the rights to advertise in five of the video-game publisher’s top titles. Google was also in the running for the prestigious ad spots, but in the end, Microsoft won the contract (see article from The Seattle Times). A Knowledge Map powered by IntellectSpace reveals the connections Microsoft has to EA that may have given it the advantage.

One person that Microsoft may have turned to for help in winning EA’s favor is Linda J. Srere. Srere is not only a current director at EA, but she is also a board member at aQuantive Inc, which Microsoft acquired in May 2007. This direct connection alone makes a strong case for why EA would choose Microsoft over Google in this deal.

Gregory B. Maffei is another director at EA who probably gave Microsoft his vote - Microsoft employed Maffei for seven years, where he last served as Senior Vice President and CFO until 2000. As Maffei can offer a wealth of insider information about this past experience, EA probably felt a greater degree of confidence in going with Microsoft instead of Google.

And Meffei and Srere aren’t the only directors with ties to Microsoft. Vivek Paul, (another EA board member), probably knows Ashok Ganguly through Wipro Ltd. Even though Ganguly is only a director at Microsoft India, simply knowing someone affiliated with Microsoft may have been enough for Srere to vote in favor of the company as opposed to Google.

With all of the connections that EA has to Microsoft, it comes as no surprise who won the lucrative digital advertising contract.

Click here for an interactive version of this IntellectSpace Knowledge Map (Internet Explorer browsers only): http://nv.intellectspace.com/ispace/GuestMonitor.aspx?id=827e2c75-3b3e-4a23-8fd1-1eacc4fd55ab

Relationships Behind Microsoft's Acquisition of aQuantive

An automatically generated IntellectSpace Knowledge Map that identified common connections between Microsoft and aQuantive involving board, executive, ownership, non-profit, education, and organization membership relationships sheds more light on the individuals who probably were involved in the acquisition discussions.

The Knowledge map shows that Mr. Gregory Maffei, a former board member of Microsoft is connected into aQuantive directly (former board member) as well as indirectly through Expedia (former board member), Electronic Arts (current board member), Dartmouth College (education), and Harvard University (former leadership post). 

Furthermore, the Knowledge Map shows that Ian Morris who was a former director of Microsoft and a founder of HouseValues, shared a seat with Nicolas Hanauer, who is currently a board of aQuantive.

An interactive version of this Knowledge Map is available at the following URL: http://nv.intellectspace.com/ispace/GuestMonitor.aspx?id=589f9be6-f9d4-4fe5-a28f-7e74c9ee6ae9