Sarita Jones, 04 February 2008
Microsoft's offer to acquire Yahoo for a price tag of $42 bn is the latest of several attempts by the software giant to play catch-up in the Internet space. Microsoft has been a strong and consistent performer over the last ten years, with consistent year-on-year revenue growth, whilst maintaining profit margins at around 25%, but it has consistently lagged behind the other internet players, including Google, and its core business is under threat from free software and the emerging Software as a Service business model.