This morning, Yahoo! responded to Microsoft’s ultimatum that an agreement must be reached within the next three weeks. The Yahoo! board of directors met yesterday and concluded once again that the deal offered was not in the best interests of Yahoo! and our stockholders. Yahoo! reiterated that it felt that the unsolicited proposal substantially undervalues Yahoo!.
Yahoo! also fought back against Microsoft allegations about the lack of discussions since the original offer. Yahoo! goes as far as making a pointed comment to Steve Ballmer directly:
Moreover, Steve, you personally attended two of these meetings and could have advanced discussions in any way you saw fit.
Yahoo! does not rule out a future agreement with Microsoft but only if the latter makes a sweeter offer.
In conclusion, please allow us to restate our position, so there can be no confusion. We are open to all alternatives that maximize stockholder value. To be clear, this includes a transaction with Microsoft if it represents a price that fully recognizes the value of Yahoo! on a standalone basis and to Microsoft, is superior to our other alternatives, and provides certainty of value and certainty of closing. Lastly, we are steadfast in our commitment to choosing a path that maximizes stockholder value and we will not allow you or anyone else to acquire the company for anything less than its full value.
We may have an interesting proxy fight on our hands in the upcoming weeks!