International Law

What would Microhoo mean for Australia?

The Age looks at how a Microsoft-Yahoo merger could raise problems in Australia:

Microsoft's $50 billion bid for Yahoo, if successful, could create significant problems for the local partnerships Yahoo7 and Ninemsn, analysts say.

Yahoo7 is a 50-50 joint venture between Seven Media and Yahoo, while PBL Media (owner of the Nine Network) and Microsoft each own half of Ninemsn, one of the most popular internet destinations in Australia..

Should Microsoft's bid for Yahoo succeed - which is likely since its offer represented a 62 per cent premium over the struggling company's market value - the online arms of bitter television rivals Seven and Nine would effectively be owned by the same company.

That position could become untenable, media analysts say. Ninemsn, Yahoo7, Seven and Nine all declined to comment on the matter.

"It's obviously going to cause a bit of chaos here," said analyst Peter Cox of Cox Media.

Read more here.

Full post as published by Freedom to Differ on February 05, 2008 (boomark / email).