Microsoft and Yahoo’s 10-year search ad deal would appear to help both companies, even if investors are lukewarm to it. Microsoft’s Bing search engine will power Yahoo’s search. Yahoo could eventually generate $500 million per year in operating income to prop up its display and mobile ad businesses. And Microsoft will close the gap in search market share, moving to No. 2 at almost 30 percent to Google’s 65 percent search share. However, not only is Google well-positioned to weather this collaborative attack, but the deal could help Google innovate even faster, add to its market share and perhaps even fly lower under the antitrust radar.
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