Microsoft launches bid for Yahoo!

After many months of speculation, Microsoft has eventually launched a bid to purchase rival Yahoo! The Microsoft offer represents a 62% premium on the current market valuation of Yahoo!

See the official Microsoft announcement 

Not surprisingly Google has responded with a critical condemnation of the move. Rather disappointingly, Google has chosen to attack Microsoft on the basis of its past track record of anti-competitive behaviour, but given both companies recent track record of playing Monopoly with internet real estate this smacks of a somewhat unjustified "holier than thou" approach.

See Google's response

So what does this mean for consumers of online advertising, and in particular search advertising? Well, its probably a good thing. Individually Microsoft with its AdCenter and Yahoo! Paid Search have struggled against the might of Google's domination of search, and re-combining the Yahoo and MSN ad distribution networks will provide more effective competition.