Yahoo: Microsoft bid undervalues company
SAN FRANCISCO -- The statement came shortly after Microsoft warned Saturday that if a deal isn't reached by April 26, it will launch a hostile takeover at a lower price.
"We are not opposed to a transaction with Microsoft if it is in the best interests of our stockholders," CEO Jerry Yang and Chairman Roy Bostock wrote in a letter to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. "Our position is simply that any transaction must be at a value that fully reflects the value of Yahoo, including any strategic benefits to Microsoft, and on terms that provide certainty to our stockholders."
In midday trading Monday, Yahoo shares dipped 2% to $27.73. Microsoft's stock was unchanged at $29.07.
Microsoft's $31-a-share bid for Yahoo, made public Feb. 1, would create a stronger rival to Google, which dominates the online search advertising market. At the time, the bid was valued at $44.6 billion, or 62% above Yahoo's market value.
Yahoo's board formally rejected Microsoft's bid on Feb. 11, saying it undervalues the company. And in Monday's letter, Yang and Bostock said Microsoft's threat to go hostile is "counterproductive and inconsistent with your stated objective of a friendly transaction."
Yang and Bostock criticized Microsoft for implying that the two companies hadn't discussed the deal since February. The Yahoo leaders said the two companies "have had constructive conversations together regarding a variety of topics, including integration and regulatory issues.
"Moreover, Steve, you personally attended two of these meetings and could have advanced discussions in any way you saw fit," they wrote.
Microsoft had no immediate response to the Yahoo statement beyond the "explicit" letter Ballmer sent to Yahoo's board on Saturday, according to Joele Frank, a spokeswoman hired by Microsoft to advise on the Yahoo deal.
