Yahoo deal being orchestrated?

Yahoo shares are higher today after some fluff was bandied around about AOL and private equity firms buying out Yahoo. Whenever I hear rumors like this during the week of options expiry, I wonder who's benefiting from the juice that Yahoo shares are enjoying this week. Is it a PE firm who bought calls on Tuesday? Is it a touter who's trying to get out of a losing position in YHOO with as little pain as possible? WHO?

My guess would be multiple culprits who have a vested interest in seeing YHOO shares going higher this week. Once the juice is off, the shares will settle down again near 52-week lows. That's the way Wall Street works folks. Selling into rumor-driven strength (and buying on rumor-induced weakness) are old tricks that have been used since the days when Larry Livermore was making his bones as the Boy Plunger.

Yahoo Spending $2 Billion To Buy Groupon?

   I chuckled when I read Kara Swisher's article on Yahoo's potential takeover plans for Groupon. Hey Yahoo, why would you spend $2 billion on a fad with few barriers to entry? If Yahoo had any initiative, they could easily start a Groupon clone themselves but they're not innovative like that. Yahoo is like one of those lumbering giants that lost its zest for life in the last decade and now gets by with the scraps. Google ate Yahoo's breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

   Kara's article also brought up memories of the rumors that Yahoo was going to take over Facebook for about $1.5 billion a few years ago. Facebook's market valuation is now higher than Yahoo's based on trading on SecondMarket. Ironic ain't it? The sad thing is, if Yahoo had taken over Facebook, they would have ruined it. Yahoo has a lackadaisical and middling corporate culture. I know this because I am friendly with a project manager there who left the company for greener pastures. I thought Yahoo was out of their facking minds when they turned down Microsoft's takeover offer a few years ago. Since that tragic episode, Yahoo's shares have tumbled about 50% and have flatlined for the past year.

   What would be my advice to Yahoo? Sell. Sell yourself to someone who's hungry and has ambition. As it is right now, Yahoo is a comfortable calf who's content to sit idly by while younger, leaner, and hungrier companies gobble up market share and become the next titans of the internet.