Merger talk concerning Yahoo! Inc. YHOO and AOL, Inc. AOL is nothing new, and last week, a new spin on the situation began to circulate.
Starboard Value, an activist hedge fund headed by Jeffrey Smith, recommended that the company acquire AOL in a letter.
"Yahoo's recent strategy of focusing on acquisitions has not worked," part of the letter read, and added: "Yahoo's stock price has merely been buoyed by the strong growth in value of Alibaba." Starboard also said an AOL merger could boost profitability at its core businesses, and thus, improve shareholder returns.
Smith isn't the first activist to come Yahoo's way (remember Dan Loeb?), so it's clear what he thinks.
But what do others in the media world have to say about everything?
Some were having fun:
What do you get when you mashup 1994 with 2004? Either Ace of Base vs. Usher, or the AOL-Yahoo merger! $yhoo $aol pic.twitter.com/IIOTB6Gz4s
— Rex Nutting (@RexNutting) September 26, 2014
AOL-Yahoo merger makes sense. As boomers age, US will soon have many more old people to dupe!
— David Frum (@davidfrum) July 14, 2014
AOL & Yahoo may be planning a merger. They've been trying to connect for years, but someone in the house was on the phone. #fallonmono
— jimmy fallon (@jimmyfallon) January 25, 2014
Others not as much:
So, "strategic combination" is merger terminology for losers? RT @ReutersBiz: Yahoo says exploring a strategic combination with AOL.
— Thornton McEnery (@ThorntonMcEnery) September 26, 2014
If Yahoo buys AOL, that would be the ugliest merger in history, every merger AOL is involved in is ugly, just don't touch AOL
— Leigh Drogen (@LDrogen) July 15, 2014
Someone explain why Wall St loves aol/yahoo merger? Adding 1 floundering content company to another only = a larger floundering content co.
— Bill Werde (@bwerde) September 26, 2014
Talk of a Yahoo!-AOL merger. Boy, that would make one very large, shapeless, directionless mess. http://t.co/NK7aQrTXQm
— shel israel (@shelisrael) September 27, 2014
And one was simply underwhelmed:
Watching Yahoo and Aol merger rumors is like watching a World Cup third-place match
— Thomas Ricker (@Trixxy) September 26, 2014
Disclosure: At the time of this writing, the author had no position in the equities mentioned in this report.
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