For Yahoo, $44.6 billion is not enough to satisfy to say “yes†to its punitive suitor Microsoft. According to a news article, a person familiar with the deal has confirmed that Yahoo’s board will reject Microsoft’s bid today.
Though the offer of $31 per share is already 62% higher than Yahoo’s current stock price, the slumping company still feels the software giant underestimates its worth.
But the courtship is not yet over. Microsoft has a few alternatives left. Analysts expect that raising the bid to $35 per share might bring Yahoo’s board back to the table. There are rumors Yahoo wants $40 per share or additional $12 billion.
But if push comes to shove, Microsoft can override the board by taking the offer directly to Yahoo’s shareholders. A hostile takeover makes sense considering these shareholders already suffered $20 billion loss due to plummeting stock prices.
Will Microsoft resort to this strategy? Its share already went down by 12% after announcing its bid because analysts fear this will create distractions and dampen the morale of worried employees.
Originally posted on February 11, 2008 @ 2:56 am