Google getting advice from Frank Quattrone and Qatalyst on Microsoft’s bid for Yahoo!

Frank Quattrone’s Qatalyst Group, which was launched last month to “provide high-end merger & acquisition and corporate finance advice to technology companies globally,” is advising Google on the Microsoft/Yahoo! merger & acquisition deal according to a report by Andrew Ross Sorkin and Michael J. de la Merced on the DealBook blog.

Hint: Click in map to explore connectionsStory continues below interactive map 

Frank Quattrone

According to the DealBook report, “Google has formally hired Mr. Quattrone’s new firm, the Qatalyst Group, people close to the company said. He has already been involved in a series of meetings and conference calls, these people said.”

The A.P has an interesting item on the Google/Microsoft/Yahoo! situation saying the Microsoft/Yahoo! deal “has become so tortured it may help Internet search and advertising leader Google Inc. grow stronger, undermining Microsoft’s main reason for pursing the deal in the first place.”

They quote Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Derek Brown on the subject:

“We find this to be a very advantageous situation for Google. The longer this gets dragged out, the better for Google. The more complicated a deal gets, the more difficult it becomes to satisfy all parties, and the more complicated the (post-deal) integration gets, the more it favors Google.

The article also highlights an “ironic twist. Google could benefit if Microsoft and News Corp. buy Yahoo because it already has a long-term contract to show ads on MySpace.”

The DealBook authors point out a press release announcing the formation of Quatalyst, Quattrone’s new venture. Quoted in it is Google CEO Eric Schmidt…

“The launch of Qatalyst is an important development for the technology industry. Frank and his team bring unparalleled industry knowledge, a unique 25-year market perspective and candid, insightful judgment that CEOs greatly value on important strategic initiatives. I look forward to working with him again and am very enthusiastic about Qatalyst’s prospects for success.”

Quattrone says the company was launched to “serve our clients as a catalyst for positive change by helping them navigate the forces affecting their industries, analyze the implications for them and their competitors, and develop and execute strategies to maximize long-term shareholder value.”

The press release touts Quattrone’s past experiences saying, “the teams he has led have advised global technology companies on more than 400 mergers and acquisitions with an aggregate transaction value over $500 billion, and on more than 350 financings that raised over $65 billion.”

There was no mention of Quatttrone’s past legal problems. In August of 2007 a federal judge ended Quattrone’s four year legal battle that had begun as an “investigation into whether banks rigged initial public offerings by demanding kickbacks for access to shares,” a report from Bloomberg said at the time.

On the Web
DealBook blog
PR Newswire
Bloomberg News (via NYT)
Associated Press

 Read related stories: Business