The Whole Yelp And Google Dealie

No one’s really sure why Yelp denied Google‘s half billion dollar bid, but the rumor on the street is a bigger baller came into town and dropped more on Jeremy‘s dining room table.

(UPDATE: San Francisco Examiner (12/22) – Apparently Google declined the deal because “Yelp wasn’t being transparent during discussions.”)

From TechCrunch:

The deal was, as we wrote late last week, in the later stages of negotiation. The two companies had agreed on a price – around $550 million plus earnouts – and were working through the final details of the acquisition.

Then something happened that made Yelp reconsider the deal. Over the weekend they notified Google that they were not going to sell, say multiple sources.

Many rightfully queried if the Google acquisition of Yelp would kill the Yelp Elite community. Does Google have as good a track record for stimulating the masses as it does in developing the platforms on which such stimulation could occur? Take a look at Blogger or Jaiku. While both offer robust technologies for content creation and sharing, neither offers the strong communal bonds that Yelp has encouraged. In other words, Google makes great toys but it won’t guide you in the game room.

From Gizmodo:

No word yet on exactly what drove Yelp to back down, but there are really just two main possibilities here:

• Yelp was uneasy with whatever Google’s plans for their company were. Given that Google already has a Yelp-like service in Google Places, there was a good chance that their plans would’ve involved cannibalizing Yelp for review data, or at least subordinating the brand for something more Googly.

• Yelp got a better offer, or at least the sense that they could get a better offer. Not that many tech companies could offer more than $550m for something as ephemeral and low-revenue as Yelp, but of the ones that could, nearly all—Microsoft, Yahoo, Apple, Aol—are locked in one war or another with Google. Even if their plans were never firm, there are a lot of powerful companies with a vested interest in Google’s local reviews staying somewhat lame.

So who else could it be? Hopefully not Microsoft. If Google got the collective Yelper long johns in a bunch, just imagine the fear generated in the village if Microsoft placed a secret bid. There’s still the possibility that Yelp is holding out, expanding to gain more value as it enters new cities and markets. Last Saturday, Honolulu had their first Yelp Hawaii Elite Event. That should add a few more dollars and cents to any future bids.

From Yelp Talk:

Does this mean http://Gelp.com will be worth money?

Now what kind of site would Gelp be?