Comments on: Google: What did they actually get for their $1bn? http://benmetcalfe.com/blog/2005/12/google-what-did-they-actually-get-for-their-1bn/ The Virtual Investor Tue, 16 Mar 2010 23:25:53 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Jan Hangland (Seattle) http://benmetcalfe.com/blog/2005/12/google-what-did-they-actually-get-for-their-1bn/comment-page-1/#comment-2613 Jan Hangland (Seattle) Fri, 03 Mar 2006 17:42:10 +0000 http://benmetcalfe.com/blog/index.php/2005/12/17/google-what-did-they-actually-get-for-their-1bn/#comment-2613 I am trying to find out if anyone has bought or bought into AOL. AOL has such awful service, but I like their featuares. I had hopes that if someone like msn bought it, there would be an improvement in AOL, and hopefully, make them more honest. I have msn and got excited when they were talking about joining with AOL, but all that talk about Google and/or msn seems to have gone to the wind and nothing happened. If you don't know, could you tell me where to find that information? I want to sign up with AOL again, but only if I see an honest company has purchased it and forced AOL to step up. Any info yu can give me would be appreciated. I am trying to find out if anyone has bought or bought into AOL. AOL has such awful service, but I like their featuares. I had hopes that if someone like msn bought it, there would be an improvement in AOL, and hopefully, make them more honest. I have msn and got excited when they were talking about joining with AOL, but all that talk about Google and/or msn seems to have gone to the wind and nothing happened. If you don’t know, could you tell me where to find that information? I want to sign up with AOL again, but only if I see an honest company has purchased it and forced AOL to step up. Any info yu can give me would be appreciated.

]]> By: Sam Sethi http://benmetcalfe.com/blog/2005/12/google-what-did-they-actually-get-for-their-1bn/comment-page-1/#comment-1604 Sam Sethi Sun, 18 Dec 2005 14:43:00 +0000 http://benmetcalfe.com/blog/index.php/2005/12/17/google-what-did-they-actually-get-for-their-1bn/#comment-1604 Hi Ben disclaimer: this is not an official MSN response just my opinion looking in from afar. For MSN it was a win:win which ever way the deal went. If MSN had won the deal what would they have got. 1. AOL network reach is not valuable anymore. AOL is losing its market share which is why both Google and MSN were able to bid for a stake. AOL needed this deal as it is losing money and Time Warner was not going to bail it out. Bottom-line it has less eyeballs on its network. So Google's billion is just a temporary crutch. AOL is broken and unlikely to be the comeback king. 2. Yes MSN would have liked the deal to take away 12% of Google's revenue. Google is still a single revenue pony and losing 12% of that revenue would have hurt. Google was made to pay above the odds to protect its revenue. If Microsoft had not bid then would Google have paid AOL at all? Google has now wasted $1bn dollars which it could have used elsewhere to buy other companies or increase the revenues it paid to adsense partners. It cannot afford to do either now it has made this pointless payment. 3. On the otherhand MSN has never recieved monies from AOL. So they have lost nothing by not losing the bid. i.e no revenue loss. AOL may switch to Firefox as its main browser but did/does it not own Netscape and yet it still uses IE? So today AOL will continue to use Google search, Google advets and IE ... but now have $1bn more in their account. So who won and who lost really? AOL will be an albatross around Google's neck. So who had the last laugh really and who got to point the billion dollar finger at who? Just an alternative thought ;-) Sam Hi Ben

disclaimer: this is not an official MSN response just my opinion looking in from afar.

For MSN it was a win:win which ever way the deal went. If MSN had won the deal what would they have got.

1. AOL network reach is not valuable anymore. AOL is losing its market share which is why both Google and MSN were able to bid for a stake. AOL needed this deal as it is losing money and Time Warner was not going to bail it out. Bottom-line it has less eyeballs on its network. So Google’s billion is just a temporary crutch. AOL is broken and unlikely to be the comeback king.

2. Yes MSN would have liked the deal to take away 12% of Google’s revenue. Google is still a single revenue pony and losing 12% of that revenue would have hurt. Google was made to pay above the odds to protect its revenue. If Microsoft had not bid then would Google have paid AOL at all? Google has now wasted $1bn dollars which it could have used elsewhere to buy other companies or increase the revenues it paid to adsense partners. It cannot afford to do either now it has made this pointless payment.

3. On the otherhand MSN has never recieved monies from AOL. So they have lost nothing by not losing the bid. i.e no revenue loss. AOL may switch to Firefox as its main browser but did/does it not own Netscape and yet it still uses IE? So today AOL will continue to use Google search, Google advets and IE … but now have $1bn more in their account. So who won and who lost really?

AOL will be an albatross around Google’s neck.

So who had the last laugh really and who got to point the billion dollar finger at who?

Just an alternative thought ;-)

Sam

]]> By: Dennis Howlett http://benmetcalfe.com/blog/2005/12/google-what-did-they-actually-get-for-their-1bn/comment-page-1/#comment-1601 Dennis Howlett Sat, 17 Dec 2005 19:13:43 +0000 http://benmetcalfe.com/blog/index.php/2005/12/17/google-what-did-they-actually-get-for-their-1bn/#comment-1601 Google gets to strengthen its position and puts MSFT on the back foot in the 'we're an ad company' stakes. Key for consumer attention. Watch for MSFT response. Google gets to strengthen its position and puts MSFT on the back foot in the ‘we’re an ad company’ stakes. Key for consumer attention. Watch for MSFT response.

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