Microsoft in talks to buy EBay and merge it with MSN
According to the New York Post, Microsoft has been in discussions for several weeks about a possible acquisition of the online auctioneer eBay so they can merge it with its MSN Portal.
If this MSN/EBay acquisition was to go ahead it would surely give both MSN and EBay a great advantage over Google, but as the New York Post pointed, that though the talks are still active they have cooled down somewhat in the last two weeks or so as executives consider antitrust issues, which I’m sure Microsoft sont want to have to deal with.
Also will this not affect EBay and Yahoos recent deal they made, which will see EBay’s pay pal service getting used as a form of payment for a lot of Yahoos services while being advertised on Yahoo at the same time.
I say this because somehow I can’t see Yahoo liking the idea of Microsoft having control over pay pal, not to mention skype, unless the talks that Microsoft did have with Yahoo continue and a deal is made
There’s a problem with that though and that is that according to one source, Bill Gates has no interest in owning a content company!
Via: New York Post
4 thoughts on “Microsoft in talks to buy EBay and merge it with MSN”
andrew247 May 27, 2006 at 8:15 pm
I thought eBay just signed a deal with Yahoo. :S
Darren Straight May 27, 2006 at 10:46 pm
Read the source! 😉
“It is unclear what the full impact of yesterday’s advertising and search alliance between Yahoo! and eBay will be for talks between MSN and eBay.
One source close to the matter suggested the Yahoo-eBay tie-up would not stop Microsoft from pursuing the online auctioneer. ”
P.S. I updated my post to make it a bit more clear!
Matthaios May 28, 2006 at 12:45 am
Do you think Microsoft would want eBay? It would be quite a step into a new field for them I would have thought. I am not sure public relations wise it would work in their favour as well. The anti-trust issue is also a key point, particularly as Microsoft still hasn’t resolved its current case in the EU regarding Windows Media Player.
Darren Straight May 28, 2006 at 5:31 pm
Well I think they do want eBay, and I could see it being a great advantage for both companies if they were to join forces, but yeah it needs to be done properly if they don’t want to see the public accuse them of trying to play nasty!