In a move that is likely the most talked-about surprise of this young year, Microsoft has made an unsolicited buy-out offer to acquire Yahoo. The offer boils down to $44.6 billion in cash and Microsoft stock, a figure that represents a 62 percent premium on Yahoo’s shares. Or at least it did at the time–Yahoo’s stock rocketed up more than 50 percent in response to the news that has [everyone](http://www.techmeme.com/080201/p26#a080201p26) buzzing.
The move is seen as a “bold” attempt to take on Google, which saw shares drop eight percent after the news hit. Yahoo is reportedly planning to seriously consider the offer, and many analysts [predict](http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-msft-yahoo-analysts-react/) that it will ultimately reach an agreement with Microsoft. The social media ramifications for this deal would certainly be far reaching, but we are still far away from learning any specific details about this proposed deal.
