微软平台和服务部门总裁 Kevin Johnson 今天致信部门所有员工，披露了收购 Yahoo 的最新进展，重申了这一交易的重要性，同时回答了一些常见的问题。下面是这封邮件的全部内容：
译文：
发送人：凯文·约翰逊
发送时间：美国东部时间2月22日12:48(北京时间2月23日1:48)
发送至：微软平台和服务部门
主题：雅虎收购案最新信息
我们于2月1日向雅虎提交了收购方案，我将借此机会向平台和服务部门的全体员工披露这一交易的最新进展，并回答一些常见的问题。
我们此前曾经讨论过，网络广告市场正在飞速发展，总产值有望于2010年达到800亿美元。我们相信我们的收购方案很有吸引力，微软与雅虎合并之后，将成为网络广告市场一个强有力的竞争对手，为广告客户在一家垄断性厂商之外提供一个更可靠的选择。我们将致力于为消费者打造最好的服务，同时为广告客户和内容发布商提供更大价值。我们对这一交易进行了深思熟虑，认为两家公司合并后可以更好地把握网络服务、搜索和广告市场的机会，我们对未来的前景感到兴奋。
我们已经提出了一个对于雅虎股东和员工都非常有吸引力的收购方案，但到目前为止，我们还没有同雅虎达成一致。雅虎董事会和管理层仍在考虑我们提交的方案，下面我来谈一下对这一交易未来进展的看法：
虽然雅虎已经发布新闻稿，拒绝了我们的收购报价，但我们仍然认为我们提出的报价公平合理。我们希望与雅虎董事会、管理层、股东和员工就两家公司合并的价值及其战略和经济利益展开建设性的对话。
如果雅虎接受收购方案，我们将开始寻求监管部门的批准，预计这一交易可于2008年下半年完成。在获得监管部门批准之前，我们必须像今天一样继续我们的日常工作，在不断变化的网络服务和广告市场开展竞争。
值得注意的是，一旦雅虎与微软达成一致，我们将在寻求监管机构批准的同时，启动整合规划流程。但是，在获得监管部门的正式批准和交易完成之前，我们不能实施这一计划。由于整合过程对于合并后新公司未来的成功至关重要，因此我们非常重视。在这方面，我们曾经取得过一些成功，例如我们制定了与 aQuantive和Tellme的整合方案，并成功地在人才、资产和基础设施方面完成了整合。
在我们提交的收购方案中，已经包含了一个经过深思熟虑的微软和雅虎整合规划流程。这一流程包括微软和雅虎管理层的整合，我们将通过协作的方式共同制定决策。更为重要的是，这一流程还包括微软和雅虎员工的整合，这是合并后公司能否获得成功的关键。
基于上述进展和时间表，我希望我们的团队能继续将已有的承诺和目标作为重点。我们应当继续实施我们的网络服务计划。
在此之前，很多媒体对我们收购方案的各个方面进行了报道。我们既面临着广阔的机会，但同时也有严峻的挑战。未来难以预料，下面我将就一些常见问题发表自己的看法。
问：微软和雅虎合并能带来什么好处？
答：首先，互联网行业需要一家更强大的网络搜索和广告公司。我曾与一些主要媒体公司的高管进行私人会谈，我知道他们都希望网络搜索和广告市场的竞争更激烈一些。如果没有这样一家公司，创新就会受到抑制，竞争就会削弱，从而为消费者、广告客户和内容发行商生成的价值也会减少。总体而言，微软和雅虎获得了一个改变现状，并为所有利益集团提供更大价值的机会。
对于个人用户和开发人员来说，研发能力的增强可以使我们在搜索、视频、移动业务、商业化和社交媒体等领域带动更多创新，提升用户体验。我们在即时通信领域与雅虎的合作已经为消费者带来了好处，我们的合作使消费者可以更方便地与自己的亲朋好友保持联系。
对于广告客户和发行商来说，规模效应可以帮助得我们为他们带来更多价值。通过将搜索广告位和非搜索广告位整合到单一广告平台，广告效益将会大幅提高。其它好处和机会还包括投资回报增加、成本降低削减、以及运行多项业务的复杂度降低。我们将致力于打造一个可扩展的广告平台，通过与其它广告代理公司的高管交流，我了解到他们也看好这样的一个平台，并希望能在扩展广告平台的过程中扮演重要角色，为广告客户增加价值。
对于股东来说，微软和雅虎的成功合并可以带来更高价值，并有机会参与合并后公司的发展。通过消除冗余的运营开支和不必要的资本支出，以及确保各部门员工人数保持在一个适当的水平，我们的运营效率也将得到提升。
合并之后，我们的业务重心将是为消费者、广告客户和内容发行商提供更好的体验和平台。我相信，通过双方工程师和商业人才的共同努力，微软和雅虎能够实现这一目标。
问：此次合并将给员工带来什么影响？你们是否会裁员？
答：员工是合并后新公司最重要的财产。我们希望合并后公司能拥有最优秀的人才，我们将在交易的每一个步骤向雅虎和微软员工表明这一点。毫无疑问，我们将为雅虎和微软员工提供丰厚的奖励和补偿。
如此大规模的并购肯定会出现一些重叠部门，但我们应该知道微软2005年以来雇佣的员工人数超过2万名，我们将在整个公司内部调配优秀的员工。我们并不缺少商业和技术机遇，但我们需要优秀的人才来把握这些机遇。
问：我们应如何看待微软和雅虎的两种文化？我们如何将这两种文化整合在一起？
答：两家公司都在全力追求能够真正改变世界的优秀设计、创新、以及服务和技术开发。两家公司都认识到广告是一个拥有很多机遇和发展潜力的行业，因此都将广告创新与分析视为公司业务的核心内容。我们可以将两家公司的优势整合到一起，包括微软的创新文化和应对研发难题的能力，以及雅虎以互联网为中心的DNA、创新设计、21世纪的媒体体验和广告人才。
两家公司的部分文化将自然而然地快速融合到一起，有些还会在近期内保持独立，然后随着时间的推移慢慢融合。今天的微软拥有一个整体企业文化，但每个团队都培育并保留了属于自己的文化。合并后新公司的企业文化将由雅虎和微软员工及团队共同构建。
问：我们将如何解决多品牌和技术共存的问题，包括Live、MSN和雅虎？哪些品牌将保留下来？
答：微软和雅虎都有着出众的品牌和技术。雅虎拥有一个强大的消费品牌，我们将把这一品牌作为整合后产品和服务的一个主要组成部分。雅虎品牌正是两家公司合并后能够产生巨大价值的原因之一。现在就说合并后新公司将保留哪些品牌和技术还为时过早。作为整合计划的一部分，我们将组建一个由微软和雅虎领导人组成联合团队，针对这些品牌和技术做出决定。我们将如何整合微软和雅虎品牌、产品和服务，这是需要在整合过程中做出的决定，并且要到交易完成之后才能落实。
问：合并之后我们要继续向前发展，我们将如何处理雅虎的基础设施，因为它并不基于Windows？
答：在我们过去几年收购的公司中，一些采用了Windows，但也有一些采用了开放源代码技术。尽管Windows是我们的战略平台，有时合并后公司会因种种原因而转用Windows产品，但也有时我们更倾向于保持连续性，利用开放互动机制来达到有效的体系整合。雅虎已经在技术方面投入了大量资金，因此我们将与雅虎工程师密切合作，共同就打造注重实效的平台和整合方式做出决定，并研究这样的决定将对客户产生什么样的影响。
问：我们会不会保留硅谷和雷德蒙总部？
答：当然。硅谷是微软在雷德蒙总部之外最大的工作地点之一，在那里拥有近1800名员工，他们担任着各种关键的技术和商业职位。雅虎总部拥有1 万多名员工，在其创新文化中发挥着重要作用。两家公司合并之后，我们将保留雅虎在硅谷的总部，而且我们希望在硅谷、雷德蒙和世界各地的微软和雅虎员工都能获得发挥才能的机会。
问：我们应如何与雅虎员工交流？
答：重要的是，微软员工不应就收购交易或合并后公司前景对雅虎员工产生怀疑。在交易完成之前，任何微软员工都不得就整合计划与雅虎员工接触，除非得到了整合团队和LCA顾问的特殊指令。在交易完成之前，我们将同此前一样与雅虎竞争。与此同时，我们也会在特定领域与雅虎合作。如果你想知道哪些是允许做的事情，请与LCA主管联系。
问：这会对我们与客户和合作伙伴的关系产生什么影响？
答：我们会秉承对客户与合作伙伴的承诺。尽管这一交易令人兴奋，但它还没有完成，所以微软和雅虎仍然是独立的公司，仍将在市场上开展竞争。
问：未来我应当怎样做？
答：我们的业务没有发生变化，你的工作也没有变。请专注于你的工作任务，不管是技术产品开发路线图，还是为广告客户和内容发行商提供服务，或者是联系我们的用户。我们应当继续专注于自身业务，让交易沿着正常的途径发展，这一点非常重要。
在适当的时候，我们将继续向你们公布交易的最新进展。
再次感谢你们在这一期间专注于公司业务和客户。
"From: Kevin Johnson
Sent: Friday, February 22, 2008 12:48 PM
To: Platforms & Services Division
Subject: Update on Yahoo! Proposal
I want to provide all employees in the Platforms & Services Division with an update on our February 1 proposal to combine with Yahoo!, and answer a few common questions that have been asked.
As we've discussed, the online advertising industry is growing rapidly and is expected to be an $80B industry by 2010. We believe our proposal is a compelling one and that the combination of Yahoo! and Microsoft creates a more credible alternative to an increasingly dominant player in the advertising industry. We are committed to building great services for consumers while delivering great value to advertisers and publishers. We have been very thoughtful about this combination, and are excited about what our two companies can do together to collectively target growth opportunities in online services, search, and advertising.
It is important to remember that, while we have made what we believe to be a very compelling proposal for Yahoo! shareholders and employees, we do not have an agreement in place with Yahoo! at this time. While Yahoo!'s Board and management consider our proposal, let me share a perspective on the process going forward:
While Yahoo! has issued a press release rejecting our proposal, we continue to believe we have a full and fair proposal on the table. We look forward to a constructive dialogue with Yahoo!'s Board, management, shareholders, and employees on the value of this combination and its strategic and financial merits.
If and when Yahoo! agrees to proceed with the proposed transaction, we will go through the process to receive regulatory approval, and expect that this transaction will close in the 2nd half of calendar year 2008. Until this proposal is accepted and receives regulatory approval, we must continue to operate our business as we do today and compete in this rapidly changing online services and advertising marketplace.
It is important to note that once Yahoo! and Microsoft agree on a transaction, we can begin the integration planning process in parallel with the regulatory review. We can create the integration plan but we cannot begin to implement it until we have formal regulatory approval and have closed the transaction. Because the integration process will be critical to our success as a combined company, we are taking this very seriously. We have recent - and successful - experience in this arena, including our integration planning with aQuantive and Tellme, both of which led to successful combinations of talent, assets, and infrastructure.
Our proposal includes a thoughtful integration planning process for a Microsoft-Yahoo! combination. It is important to me that this process includes leaders from Yahoo! and Microsoft and is done in a way that enables us, together, to make decisions in a collaborative way. Importantly, this will be an inclusive process with Yahoo! employees as they are a key part of our success as a combined company.
With the above process and timeline in mind, I want our teams to stay focused on existing commitments and goals. We should continue to make progress against our plans for online services.
There has been a lot written about various aspects of our proposal. And there are compelling opportunities and tough challenges ahead. While it's hard to predict the future, I want to convey my sense of where things are by responding to a set of common questions that have come up from employees.
Q: What are the benefits of a Microsoft-Yahoo! combination?
A: First, the industry needs a more compelling alternative in search and online advertising. I have personally met with top executives of the major media companies, and I know there is a desire for more competition in search and online advertising. Without this, there's less innovation, less competition, and less value being generated for consumers, advertisers, and publishers. Together, Microsoft and Yahoo! would have an opportunity to change and evolve the experiences and value we deliver to all of these groups.
For consumers and developers, our expanded R&D capacity would allow us to drive innovation in emerging user experiences in areas such as search, video, mobile, commerce, and social media. Already, our collaborative work with Yahoo! on interoperability between our instant messaging services has benefitted consumers and made it easier for them to stay connected with friends and family.
For advertisers and publishers, scale economics would allow us to deliver more value to this customer base. By combining search and non-search advertising inventory on a single ad platform, yield is also improved. The other benefits and opportunities may include improving return on investment and decreasing the cost and complexity of running multiple campaigns. We also believe in an extensible ad platform. From my discussions with top advertising agency executives, they share this belief and want to play a key role in extending this ad platform for incremental value to advertisers.
For shareholders, a successful combination would provide superior value and an opportunity to participate in the upside of the combined company. There are expected operating efficiencies driven by synergies from eliminating redundant operating expenses, redundant capital expenses, and ensuring appropriate headcount allocation by function.
The focus of our combined company will be to build great experiences and platforms for our joint consumers, advertisers, and publishers. I am confident in the collective engineering & business talent we have at Microsoft and Yahoo! to drive towards this vision.
Q: What impact would this combination have on staffing? Would there be any reductions?
A: People are the single most important asset in this combination. We want the very best talent at the combined company, and we will demonstrate this to Yahoo! and Microsoft employees at each step of the deal. There's no question we will dedicate significant rewards and compensation to Yahoo! and Microsoft employees.
While some overlap is expected in any combination of this size, we should remember that Microsoft is a growth company that has hired over 20,000 people since 2005, and we would look to place talented employees throughout the company as a whole. We have no shortage of business and technical opportunities, and we need great people to focus on them.
Q: How should we view the two cultures at Microsoft and Yahoo!? How would we bring the two cultures together?
A: Both companies share a passion for great engineering, creativity, and development of services and technologies that truly can change the world. Respect for both the creative and analytical aspects of advertising is core to both companies, along with recognition that advertising is an industry that represents opportunity and growth. We would have an opportunity to bring together the best of both companies - Microsoft's culture of innovation, and long-term commitment to tough R&D problems, with Yahoo!'s blend of Web-centric DNA and innovative engineering, 21st century media expertise, and advertising talent. Some aspects of the two cultures will naturally merge quickly and some will remain unique in the near-term and merge more slowly over time. At Microsoft today, we have a corporate culture, but individual teams develop, nurture, and retain a culture of their own as well. The culture of the combined entity will be shaped by individuals and teams from both Yahoo! and Microsoft.
Q: How would we address the multiple brands and technologies within Live, MSN, and Yahoo!? Which brand would we keep?
A: Both Microsoft and Yahoo! have great brands and technologies. Yahoo! has a very strong consumer brand and we are committed to build on the Yahoo! brand as a major part of the combined products and services we deliver to customers. The Yahoo! brand is one of the reasons the combination of the two companies would create so much value. It is premature to say which aspects of the brands and technologies we would use in our combined offerings. As part of the integration planning effort, it is important that we enable a joint team of leaders from Microsoft and Yahoo! to make thoughtful decisions about brands and technologies. How we integrate Microsoft and Yahoo!'s brands, products, and services are the types of decisions that would be made during this integration planning process-by leaders from both companies-and implemented over time after the transaction closes.
Q: If we move forward with a combination, what's our plan for addressing Yahoo!'s technology infrastructure, since it's non-Windows based?
A: Services we've acquired over the years have been based on both Windows and open source technologies. Although Windows is our strategic platform and in some cases the teams ultimately migrated their products to Windows for a variety of reasons, in other cases we have prioritized continuity and have used open interoperability mechanisms to achieve effective systems integration. Yahoo! has made significant investments in both its skills and technologies, so we would work closely with Yahoo! engineers to make pragmatic platform and integration methodology decisions as appropriate, prioritizing above all how those decisions would impact customers.
Q: Would we maintain locations in both Silicon Valley and Redmond?
A: Absolutely. Silicon Valley is one of Microsoft's largest presences outside our Redmond headquarters, with nearly 1,800 employees in a variety of key engineering and business roles. Yahoo!'s campus houses over 10,000 employees and plays a key part in their innovative culture. In bringing the companies together, we would be committed to maintaining Yahoo!'s significant presence in Silicon Valley, and we anticipate that there would be exciting opportunities for a combined Microsoft and Yahoo! talent base in Silicon Valley, Redmond, and many other cities worldwide.
Q: How should we interact with Yahoo! employees?
A: It's important that Microsoft employees not speculate with Yahoo! employees about the proposal or about what a deal would mean for the combined company. Prior to close of the transaction, no Microsoft employee should reach out to Yahoo! employees for the purpose of integration planning unless specifically instructed to do so by the integration team and its LCA advisors.
Prior to the close, we must continue to compete with Yahoo! as before. At the same time, there are areas where we partner with Yahoo!. If you have questions about what is permissible, please contact your team's LCA leader.
Q: How does this impact our relationship with customers and partners?
A: Our commitment to customers and partners remains paramount. While this proposed combination is exciting, Microsoft and Yahoo! remain separate companies and will continue to compete in the marketplace.
Q: What can I expect going forward?
A: It's business as usual and, as such, your commitments remain unchanged. Please stay focused on your key priorities, whether it's a technical product roadmap, serving our advertiser or publisher customers, or connecting with users of our services. It's important that we stay focused on our business commitments and let the process for the transaction take its course.
At the appropriate times, we will update you further on progress and news regarding this proposed transaction.
Thanks again for your continued focus on our business and customers during this period.
Regards,
Kevin Johnson, President
Microsoft Platforms & Services Division"
引用: http://www.creative-weblogging.com/cgi-bin/mt-tb.pl/114655
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