After Microsoft made its bid to acquire Yahoo for $44.6 billion (£22.4 billion) on Friday, everyone was wondering what Google's reaction would be.
Not only was the company facing the prospect of a much larger competitor in the online space, but its advertising model would be put at risk as two major companies joined forces. Not surprisingly, then, it didn't take long for Google to respond.
In a statement on the company's website, David Drummond, senior vice president, corporate development and chief legal officer at Google, said: "Microsoft's hostile bid for Yahoo raises troubling questions. This is about more than simply a financial transaction, one company taking over another. It's about preserving the underlying principles of the internet: openness and innovation."
Inappropriate and illegal?
Further, Drummond argued that his organisation was concerned that Microsoft would "now attempt to exert the same sort of inappropriate and illegal influence over the internet that it did with the PC."
And although these are strong words coming from the de facto leader in the online advertising and search space, some sceptics have echoed Drummond's complaint, saying the possible Yahoo acquisition could prove troublesome. Regardless, it looks like Yahoo is taking Microsoft's bid seriously and will be making its decision soon. And when it does, expect Drummond and Google to be the first to comment.
