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April 4, 2008, 9:14 pm

Microsoft warns it could withdraw Yahoo bid

By Yi-Wyn Yen

Microsoft signaled Friday that it could rescind its offer to buy Yahoo at $31 a share.

Microsoft (MSFT) and Yahoo (YHOO) executives met earlier this week but the talks ended in a standstill. Microsoft execs, who had earlier hinted that they would not raise their bid, refused to pay the $40 per share that Yahoo demanded, a source familiar with the matter told Fortune.

A Yahoo spokeswoman declined to comment.

The source said that Microsoft doesn’t plan to revoke its offer, but is merely using a tactical maneuver called “market signaling” to put pressure on Yahoo’s board of directors. Microsoft is broadcasting to Wall Street that Yahoo’s stock would become vulnerable it if withdraws its bid.

The software giant has said that it does not need to raise its offer because it doesn’t believe Yahoo has any alternative but to accept the deal. Yahoo has repeatedly stated that Microsoft’s offer significantly undervalues the company and formally rejected the offer in February.

After Reuters reported Friday that Microsoft was “evaluating” its offer, Yahoo shares slipped 6% in after-hour trading. The software giant made its $44.6 billion offer on Jan. 31. The deal is now valued at about $42 billion.

msft should withdraw its offer and then comeback next with an offer of $15 per share

Posted By macdisser,bronx,new york : April 10, 2008 7:11 pm

Microsoft is a stumbling giant at the moment. It’s vista release has not been so hot. msn.com a rival to yahoo and google never became anything worthwhile.
The folks at yahoo use open source tools and unix. There is very little synergy between yahoo and msft in terms of technology and I always wondered why MSFT was now giving up on msn and trying to buy yahoo. Maybe if you cannot beat them.. join them?

Yahoo will survive this one and hold its own. Google is starting to show some cracks…

Yahoo’s stock may take a beating.. but what does the market know about technology? The same market had written off apple .. and look where apple is now. I have faith in yahoo’s workforce and management.

Posted By Sid, Katy TX : April 5, 2008 2:39 pm

It would be nice if the guys who write this stuff would spell-check and other-wise proof-read their work.

Second-to-last paragraph: replace ‘formerly rejected’ with ‘formally rejected.’

Posted By Rick Medina,OH : April 5, 2008 12:30 pm

..

with $44 billion, Microsoft can start TEN companies like Yahoo from ZERO, but, if they want to burn so much money, why don’t use a “slice” of them to do something really new and better, as explained in this article: http://www.ghostnasa.com/posts/027applenasa.html

the same suggestion is good also for Apple that has $18 billion CASH in its pockets

..

Posted By Gaetano Marano – Italy : April 5, 2008 10:58 am

Anyone who thinks YHOO is worth more than $30/share is INSANE FOLKS!!!!! MSFT should retract the offer and sit back and watch the shareholder lawsuits fly.
Then watch YHOO come crawling back begging to be acquired, that would be poetic justice IMHO!!!

Posted By Jean, Ottawa, Canada : April 5, 2008 10:18 am

MSFT will achieve the purchase of Yahoo. But if Yahoo shareholders aren’t careful it will be at a much lower price. Anyone who thinks Yahoo’s share price will only drop to 18/19 a share if MSFT withdraws it’s bid is living in a fantasy world. Yahoo’s share’s will lose close to 50% of their value with a 12/14 range being more more representative of current market conditions. Then MSFT will come back with a lower bid of 24/25 a share that Yahoo shareholders will have no choice but to accept. A second withdrawel of offer would destroy yahoo’s share value completely to a 6/7 a share value. Yahoo shareholders are being put at risk and being duped by the greed of it’s CEO and BOD. If they don’t act fast they will almost certainly lose $$$$ and not gain.

Posted By P.Blake Overland Park, KS. : April 5, 2008 9:29 am

$40 dollars is overvalued. Dot.bomb valuations is one thing, but take a look at the IPO market. Yahoo is lucky to receive the offer on the table.

Posted By K, San Francisco : April 5, 2008 6:00 am

There is absolutely little synergy and value added incentive to this tie up. It reminds me of the movie “Grumpy old men”. The two lamest and behind companies in America team up to form into Hobo – The mismatched robot. All the while google has an entrenched market who will never use crappy Yahoo search or MSN garbage, only old people and computer illiterates even use those sites now days. Gmail, Google Finance, and Google search is dominant – thats the bottom line. If you want to find what your looking for then Google is the one, and they know how to build on this lead and maintain it, they are actively expanding it. Short Yahoo, it is garbage, they are dumb for not jumping on the deal, If I were microsoft and saw the streets lack of enthusiasm for this deal I would walk away. YHOO trades at a current P/E of twice google, it is even overvalued comparatively.

Posted By Brett, San Marcos, Texas : April 5, 2008 2:11 am

Pressure tactics for YHOO BoD to act fast. Withdrawl of the offer will subject YHOO to go to $18-20 level, which will not go down very well with Shareholders and blame will be on YHOO BOD and Mgmt.

Posted By Shashank, San Jose CA : April 5, 2008 1:58 am

Microsoft should stop the Yahoo deal now. As it can pickup a lot less later.

Posted By Tak, Vancouver : April 5, 2008 1:22 am

Gee, after 10 years where is microsoft on the net?….NoWHERE!…without yahoo, google will eat them alive over time. Microsoft HAS to buy yahoo to even compete….PERIOD!

Posted By Brent, Albuquerque New Mexico : April 5, 2008 12:55 am

The truth is – Yahoo is worth what it’s worth, which is <$30. Sure, Yahoo executives can dream that their company is worth PE’s in the 80’s, so did a bunch of dotcom dreamers 10 years ago. $40 bluff is a good one, but don’t get gready, you are already offered 50+ PE’s, with economy in recession. MSFT made a good call.

Posted By Iv, San Jose, CA : April 5, 2008 12:39 am

Microsoft should not buy Yahoo for $41 billion. Yahoo’s days are numbered, and if MS waits, then they may be able to purchase them for a lot less.

Posted By Steve, Austin, TX : April 4, 2008 11:44 pm

Funny….Microsoft is acting as if Yahoo! came begging to them to take them over. They must pay more if they really want to acquire Yahoo!.

Posted By Neo, San Francisco, CA : April 4, 2008 10:40 pm

> Microsoft is broadcasting to Wall Street that Yahoo’s stock would become vulnerable it if withdraws its bid.

Of course it’ll take a hit, and it’ll be driven and amplified by Wall St traders that can finally make a buck on predictable directionality. So what.

Yahoo is a great company with enviable assets and phenomenal strategic positioning due to the long term investments and progress it’s made in the past 12-18 mos while it’s been quietly maneuvering behind google’s long shadow to capitalize on what the online ad market will evolve to become once middle america realizes that the ‘internet’ is more than google.com.

all this is unknown to most and under-appreciated by the rest.. doesn’t anyone realize that google gets most it’s $ from it’s ad publishing network (adsense), not keyword advertising on google.com (adwords). yahoo currently competes only with the latter so far via panama, while working on soon launching a competitive product to the former!.. = lots more growth in $ and share on the horizon.. hence their recently release growth forecasts!

also, their starting points – partner of choice – and must-buy strategic approach is right on. shareholders would be smart to hold pat while msft plays it’s games. even a withdrawn bid may crush yahoo stock in a knee-jerk reaction and short term basis, but shareholders will find a bigger upside to buy on those lows and hold through while the storm is weathered and yahoo emerges again with accelerating growth and dominant market position within a more ubiquitous internet culture that will take shape here and worldwide in the next few years.

kudos to yahoo for holding it’s ground.

nay-sayers and wall-street traders, don’t know the first thing about yahoo’s value b/c they just don’t get it. clearly they’re not even paying attention… let’s not forget how many places yahoo is the leader. a strong second in search. plus massive vision/leadership and investments in mobile, intl, data-driven advertising, integrated solutions and research.. aside from the new publishing ads network to cut into google’s monopoly there with adsense.

$40 a share or hold tight yahoo, imo… anything less and you’ll be better off independent in the long term, as will shareholders.

Posted By b.libicki, san francisco, ca : April 4, 2008 10:18 pm
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