Yahoo to Microsoft: Thanks for the Kind Letter
Responding to a letter Microsoft sent the Yahoo Board of Directors over the weekend, Yahoo said not only is the offer not enough, threats aren't going to get Microsoft anywhere.
Steve's letter said that Yahoo's management is "choosing not to enter into substantive negotiations" with the Redmonds, letting "this window of opportunity" to reach a friendly agreement pass. If it has to come to a proxy fight with dueling director slates, it will be with a new offer as a backdrop—and it will be lower then the one currently on the table. Yahoo has three weeks to accept Microsoft's current offer before the price drops.
Yang says that he's "not opposed to a transaction with Microsoft if it is in the best interests of our stockholders." It's just that the current deal "substantially undervalues" Yahoo, particularly since Microsoft's sagging stock price has lowered the part-cash, part-stock bid to $29.38 per share today. That's well below the original $31 per share offer.
The drama continues, and one has to wonder if Ballmer will open Microsoft's wallet wider, as Yahoo indicates, and if so: will Yahoo respond positively. Yang's opinion of Microsoft is no secret.
Steve's letter said that Yahoo's management is "choosing not to enter into substantive negotiations" with the Redmonds, letting "this window of opportunity" to reach a friendly agreement pass. If it has to come to a proxy fight with dueling director slates, it will be with a new offer as a backdrop—and it will be lower then the one currently on the table. Yahoo has three weeks to accept Microsoft's current offer before the price drops.
Yang says that he's "not opposed to a transaction with Microsoft if it is in the best interests of our stockholders." It's just that the current deal "substantially undervalues" Yahoo, particularly since Microsoft's sagging stock price has lowered the part-cash, part-stock bid to $29.38 per share today. That's well below the original $31 per share offer.
The drama continues, and one has to wonder if Ballmer will open Microsoft's wallet wider, as Yahoo indicates, and if so: will Yahoo respond positively. Yang's opinion of Microsoft is no secret.
