[Infowarrior] - Yahoo Board to Reject Microsoft

[Richard Forno]

Report: Yahoo Board to Reject Microsoft
Feb 9 01:45 PM US/Eastern
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8UMVAU80&show_article=1

        SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Yahoo Inc.'s board plans to reject Microsoft
Corp.'s $44.6 billion bid to buy the Internet pioneer, The Wall Street
Journal reported on its Web site Saturday.

Board members concluded the unsolicited offer massively undervalues the
company, a person familiar with the situation told the newspaper.

The $31 per share bid was made public on Feb. 1. Board members so far would
only say they were studying the offer.

Yahoo's board intends to send a letter to Microsoft on Monday explaining its
decision, persons close to the company said.

Microsoft and Yahoo representatives did not immediately return calls for
comment.

The slumping Internet company's rejection of the offer might mean Yahoo is
getting ready for a long battle, analysts said.

Board members believe Microsoft is attempting to take advantage of a recent
slump in share price to take over. But they're not ready to consider any
offer below $40 per share, according to a person knowledgeable about the
discussions.

Yahoo appears to be counting on Microsoft's reluctance to engage in a
hostile takeover.

Ignoring the wishes of management and the board and creating resentment
among the Web giant's engineers could also make it harder to push the deal
past authorities, as Yahoo officials could try to convince regulators that
the deal is anticompetitive.

But analysts are uncertain whether Microsoft would be up to paying the
higher price per share, which would raise its bid by about $12 billion.


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