Yahoo repeats rejection to Microsoft
In a quick response to Microsoft’s weekend letter, Yahoo responded loudly today with a letter criticizing Microsoft’s acquisition offer (valued today at roughly $29/share).
What does this rejection mean? It means that Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang, co-signee of the letter, was NOT busy today negotiating a $36/share deal with News Corp. It means that Yang was NOT busy today negotiating for an attractive combination with Time Warner’s AOL unit.
It does means that Yahoo and Microsoft are much farther away than previously thought. You negotiate privately over $0.50-$1.50/share. You send hastily written letters when the difference is $8.00/share. This was the latter.
It also means that Yahoo believes that Microsoft will not increase the bid, that there are no other options for deals at this point, and that this will be settled via proxy fight in the shareholder vote.
Meanwhile, Yahoo’s stock fell 2.3% today, in apparent disagreement with Yang’s principle argument that Yahoo would be better off alone.
Stay tuned… we anxiously await Microsoft’s letter tomorrow. Then again, Microsoft appears content to maintain the upperhand and do nothing but watch Yahoo’s stock drop right back to pre-offer levels.
For more from The New York Times, click here.
