Microsoft and Yahoo Agree to Amend Search Partnership
April 16 2015 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
Amendment improves partnership, accelerates
innovation and increases agility in market
Today Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO)
announced that the companies amended their search partnership to
improve the search experience, create value for advertisers and
establish ongoing stability for partners. The update reaffirms
commitments made by both companies in the original 2009 agreement,
while implementing changes to keep the partnership strong and
productive, with both companies committed to maximizing the
alliance.
“Our global partnership with Yahoo has benefited our shared
customers over the past five years and I look forward to building
on what we’ve already accomplished together,” said Satya Nadella,
CEO, Microsoft Corp. “Our partnership with Yahoo is one example of
the diverse partnerships we’ll continue to cultivate in order to
have the greatest impact for our customers.”
“Over the past few months, Satya and I have worked closely
together to establish a revised search agreement that allows us to
enhance our user experience and innovate more in our search
business,” said Marissa Mayer. “This renewed agreement opens up
significant opportunities in our partnership that I’m very excited
to explore.”
The update includes improvements in two core areas. First, Yahoo
will now have increased flexibility to enhance the search
experience on any platform, since the partnership is non-exclusive
for both desktop and mobile. Yahoo will continue to serve Bing ads
and search results for a majority of its desktop search
traffic.
Second, the update increases agility and sales focus. Microsoft
will become the exclusive salesforce for ads delivered by
Microsoft’s Bing Ads platform, while Yahoo will continue to be the
exclusive salesforce for Yahoo’s Gemini ads platform. Integrating
the sales teams with those responsible for engineering will allow
both companies to service advertisers more effectively. Microsoft
and Yahoo plan to begin to transition managed advertiser sales
responsibilities this summer.
The partnership, formed in 2009 by both CEOs’ predecessors,
established a transformative relationship between the two companies
-- one where Microsoft exclusively provided paid and algorithmic
search services on PC to Yahoo. The alliance also designated a
revenue sharing agreement where Microsoft pays Yahoo a percentage
of Bing Ads revenue delivered from Yahoo searches. This existing
underlying economic structure remains unchanged with today's
updates.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide
leader in software, services, devices and solutions that help
people and business realize their full potential.
About Yahoo! Inc.
Yahoo is a guide focused on making users' daily habits inspiring
and entertaining. By creating highly personalized experiences for
our users, we keep people connected to what matters most to them,
across devices and around the world. In turn, we create value for
advertisers by connecting them with the audiences that build their
businesses. Yahoo is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, and
has offices located throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific (APAC)
and the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) regions. For more
information, visit the pressroom (pressroom.yahoo.net) or the
Company's blog (yahoo.tumblr.com).
This press release contains forward-looking statements
(including without limitation the quotations) about Yahoo’s
strategic and operational plans, the amended search partnership and
its ability to improve search experience, create value for
advertisers, provide stability to partners, allow more innovation
in search, and allow both parties to service advertisers more
effectively. Risks and uncertainties may cause actual results to
differ materially from the results predicted. The potential risks
and uncertainties include, among others, the risk that the expected
financial and other benefits of the amended search partnership with
Microsoft Corporation may not be realized. All information set
forth in this press release is as of the date of this press
release. Yahoo does not intend, and undertakes no duty, to update
this information to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.
More information about potential factors that could affect the
Company’s business and financial results is included under the
captions “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis
of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in the Company’s
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014,
which is on file with the SEC and available on the SEC’s website at
www.sec.gov. Additional information will also be set forth in those
sections in Yahoo’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter
ended March 31, 2015, which will be filed with the SEC in the
second quarter of 2015.
Microsoft Corp.David Cuddy,
425-421-2502dcuddy@microsoft.comorYahoo, Inc.Rebecca Neufeld,
408-349-4040rneufeld@yahoo-inc.com
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024