Microsoft search deal with Yahoo finally out of the way

After many months of tortured talks and negotiations and rumors and false starts, the long-awaited "search deal" between Microsoft and Yahoo has finally seen the light of day. I am sure that there will be potholes along the way and an ongoing adjustment between the two companies and their partially-aligned objectives, but I am also sure this deal will work for the long run. It may in fact evolve into a radically different form five to ten years from now, but that is a natural process and not a problem. I am also sure that there will be plenty of critics and plenty of naysayers along the way, but I can also confidently state as a shareholder of Microsoft that I am in favor of the deal and I do believe that it will add real value to Microsoft and its shareholders over the long term. What short-term traders and so-called Wall Street "profesisonals" think of the deal is irrelevant to serious investors.

The best news is that the deal is done and we won't have to listen to the continuous stream of rumor that has plagued both companies for more than a year now.

For the record, this is a much better deal for Microsoft shareholders than an outright purchase of Yahoo or even a partial acquisition of Yahoo.

Give plenty of credit to Carol Bartz. As a "newcomer" to Yahoo she did a great job of cutting through the fog and crap and engineered a solid deal for Yahoo as well as enabling a solid deal for Microsoft.

Personally, I think Steve Ballmer is a truly great CEO. Running Microsoft is no easy task. He is quite up to the task.

The only really satisfying answer to the critics of Microsoft and this deal is to simply stand back and watch and let the test of time prove out the judgment of Bartz and Ballmer over the next five years.

The agreement is for 10 years. Nobody knows that the online landscape will look like out past 10 years. This deal gives both parties flexibility for the long term.

The companies expect the deal to close in early 2010, including regulatory review.

It will take about two years (after regulatory approval) to get to "full implementation" of the deal.

Read the joint press release.

(My apologies to Yahoo for not writing the exclamation point after their company name.)

-- Jack Krupansky