SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 1: Microsoft on Friday unveiled a bid of $44.6 billion for Yahoo in an effort to merge the world’s biggest software company with a major Internet player to take on the Google juggernaut.

The deal could reshape the landscape for high technology by combining Microsoft and one of the leading brands on the Internet.

“We are very confident this is a right path for Microsoft and Yahoo,” Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said in a conference call with analysts and reporters after the unsolicited bid was unveiled.

“We are very committed to this. When you combine the strengths of our two companies, the result will be an incredibly competitive enterprise.”

Ballmer said he called Yahoo co-founder and chief executive Jerry Yang on Thursday night to discuss the offer.

Yahoo said it was examining the “unsolicited proposal” and added that its board “will evaluate this proposal carefully and promptly in the context of Yahoo’s strategic plans and pursue the best course of action to maximise long-term value for shareholders.”

The move comes as Yahoo is losing ground rapidly in the Internet space to Google, the search leader which has been able to cash in on the growing market for online advertising.

Microsoft said a combination of the companies would lead to cost savings of $1bn per year.

—AFP