Today Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO) announced that
the companies amended their search partnership to improve the search
experience, create value for advertisers and establish ongoing stability
for partners. The update reaffirms commitments made by both companies in
the original 2009 agreement, while implementing changes to keep the
partnership strong and productive, with both companies committed to
maximizing the alliance.
“Our global partnership with Yahoo has benefited our shared customers
over the past five years and I look forward to building on what we’ve
already accomplished together,” said Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft Corp.
“Our partnership with Yahoo is one example of the diverse partnerships
we’ll continue to cultivate in order to have the greatest impact for our
customers.”
“Over the past few months, Satya and I have worked closely together to
establish a revised search agreement that allows us to enhance our user
experience and innovate more in our search business,” said Marissa
Mayer. “This renewed agreement opens up significant opportunities in our
partnership that I’m very excited to explore.”
The update includes improvements in two core areas. First, Yahoo will
now have increased flexibility to enhance the search experience on any
platform, since the partnership is non-exclusive for both desktop and
mobile. Yahoo will continue to serve Bing ads and search results for a
majority of its desktop search traffic.
Second, the update increases agility and sales focus. Microsoft will
become the exclusive salesforce for ads delivered by Microsoft’s Bing
Ads platform, while Yahoo will continue to be the exclusive salesforce
for Yahoo’s Gemini ads platform. Integrating the sales teams with those
responsible for engineering will allow both companies to service
advertisers more effectively. Microsoft and Yahoo plan to begin to
transition managed advertiser sales responsibilities this summer.
The partnership, formed in 2009 by both CEOs’ predecessors, established
a transformative relationship between the two companies -- one where
Microsoft exclusively provided paid and algorithmic search services on
PC to Yahoo. The alliance also designated a revenue sharing agreement
where Microsoft pays Yahoo a percentage of Bing Ads revenue delivered
from Yahoo searches. This existing underlying economic structure remains
unchanged with today's updates.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in
software, services, devices and solutions that help people and business
realize their full potential.
About Yahoo! Inc.
Yahoo is a guide focused on making users' daily habits inspiring and
entertaining. By creating highly personalized experiences for our users,
we keep people connected to what matters most to them, across devices
and around the world. In turn, we create value for advertisers by
connecting them with the audiences that build their businesses. Yahoo is
headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, and has offices located
throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific (APAC) and the Europe, Middle East
and Africa (EMEA) regions. For more information, visit the pressroom (pressroom.yahoo.net)
or the Company's blog (yahoo.tumblr.com).
This press release contains forward-looking statements (including
without limitation the quotations) about Yahoo’s strategic and
operational plans, the amended search partnership and its ability to
improve search experience, create value for advertisers, provide
stability to partners, allow more innovation in search, and allow both
parties to service advertisers more effectively. Risks and uncertainties
may cause actual results to differ materially from the results
predicted. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others,
the risk that the expected financial and other benefits of the amended
search partnership with Microsoft Corporation may not be realized. All
information set forth in this press release is as of the date of this
press release. Yahoo does not intend, and undertakes no duty, to update
this information to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. More
information about potential factors that could affect the Company’s
business and financial results is included under the captions “Risk
Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations” in the Company’s Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014, which is on file with
the SEC and available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
Additional information will also be set forth in those sections in
Yahoo’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31,
2015, which will be filed with the SEC in the second quarter of 2015.
Copyright Business Wire 2015