Based on various news reports that say Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) has hired a lobbying firm to help it win over regulatory approval for it, the long awaited buyout deal of Yahoo Inc (NASDAQ:YHOO) could be imminent.
"The software company, bracing for a regulatory squabble in its takeover bid, recently hired Bryan Cave Strategies to lobby the federal government on the proposed multibillion-dollar deal," The Mercury News reported in an online article last Friday.
Despite the two technology companies’ combative public statements, it’s highly probable that behind-the-scenes talks among the two companies’ Directors were ongoing.
NewsVisual created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map that demonstrates the likelihood of strong personal connections among the members of the two companies’ Board of Directors.
The first connection runs through the investment-banking firm Morgan Stanley. Microsoft Director Charles H Noski and Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock would certainly be acquainted with one another since they both currently serve on Morgan Stanley’s board.
Given Bostock’s influence within Yahoo, it’s highly probably that Microsoft would rely on Noski as a back channel for keeping the buyout negotiations open.
The Knowledge Map also illustrates another potential axis of connection between the Yahoo and Microsoft board rooms that lies through Stanford University.
Although it’s unlikely that they were classmates because of their age disparities, Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang, 37, could have a personal connection to Microsoft Directors Reed Hastings, 46, and David F Marquardt, 58, through Stanford’s alumni organization or one of the University’s other social networks.
Anyone of these personal connections that the Map depicts could serve as a conduit for keeping the talks between Yahoo and Microsoft on life support.
newsvisual.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment