Yahoo, once the leader in internet services, is struggling to implement a growth strategy to keep up with competitors such as Google and Facebook
“Yahoo has been here for fifteen years. We are the Internet. Unfortunately, we sit in a paradigm that values the new shiny penny,” Carol Bartz CEO of Yahoo!
In addition, Yahoo needs to selectively acquire companies to round out its portfolio in their selected focus areas. No matter how talented or large Yahoo’s development team is, it will not be able to compete with the groundswell. Rather, it should acquire or partner with companies and integrate them into their areas of focus. With over $4 billion in cash, and almost $1 billion annually in free cash flow, Yahoo has the financial means to acquire companies that complement its focused offerings such as leading game developers for the iPad or Facebook, or other companies that threaten its market position.
[This article has been reproduced with permission from Knowledge Network, the online thought leadership platform for Thunderbird School of Global Management https://thunderbird.asu.edu/knowledge-network/]