Microsoft chief financial officer Chris Liddell has described
Yahoo as "a declining asset" and ruled out a complete takeover
of the internet company, reports Reuters.
Speaking of Microsoft's failed attempt to buy Yahoo, Liddell
said, "We took the view and we still take the view that Yahoo is
essentially a declining asset. We made a credibly generous bid with
a very high premium because we were looking for speed."
The company wanted a quick solution to make its own search
engine business more attractive to users and build greater
advertising revenues as a result.
Microsoft had a
separate attempt to buy Yahoo's search engine business also
rebuffed by the company.
Liddell was speaking to Wall Street analysts at the company's
annual analyst meeting at its Redmond headquarters.
He added that the "chances of us buying Yahoo on a full
acquisition basis are so small that they are essentially
negligible."
That doesn't rule out another attempt by Microsoft to buy
Yahoo's search business separately, but that is the most valuable
part of the firm, and Yahoo has since signed a search engine deal
with Google which shares ad revenues.
Yahoo this week posted lower profits for the second quarter.