Microsoft to Yahoo: THIS IS WAR!
ADOTAS — Microsoft Corp. doesn’t plan to raise the price of its $44.6 billion takeover bid for Yahoo, Inc. but it is about to make it a lot harder for CEO Jerry Yang to wiggle out of the software giant’s embrace, according to reports today.
Microsoft has authorized a proxy battle for Yahoo this week, in a bid to lure the Web company’s shareholders into Microsoft’s camp. And if Yahoo doesn’t enter talks with Microsoft, the company will seek to nominate a new batch of directors to Yahoo’s board by March 13 – and oust the old board in the process, The New York Times reports.
The battle is expected to cost Microsoft between $20 million and $30 million, a much cheaper alternative to raising its bid. Upping the $31-per-share offer would cost Microsoft an additional $1.4 billion for every dollar added. Yang rejected the initial overture as “not in the best interests” of stockholders, saying the company is “uniquely positioned” to grow from $45 billion in 2007 to $75 billion in 2010.
Microsoft has watched its stock plummet 12.8% since the Feb. 1 bid and major Yahoo and Microsoft shareholders have questioned the deal’s merits and future and offered conflicting advice to the companies.
Leading stock-picker Bill Miller of Legg Mason, Yahoo’s second-biggest investor, said Microsoft should up its offer to reach a deal. Fund manager Robert Olstein, who owns 1 million Microsoft shares, wrote a letter to chief financial officer Chris Liddell that said, in part, “Under no circumstances should you raise your price,” The Guardian reported yesterday.
On Monday, Microsoft’s chairman Bill Gates told Reuters there was “nothing new” in the takeover process and that its initial offer was “very fair.”
Because Yahoo doesn’t have a staggered board, it is vulnerable in a proxy battle. All of the Internet company’s directors are up for nomination this year, The Times notes. And in a contested election, directors are elected by a plurality of votes cast.
Even more ominously, the very nature of this kind of heated and protracted skirmish will likely lead to a big body count at Yahoo, industry professionals anticipate. It is likely that Yang and other top executives will lose their jobs should Microsoft come out on top.
Reader Comments.
Microsoft will win this war easily. Jerry Yang had better get on the phone to Rupert Murdoch right away.
Leave a Comment
Article Sponsor
More Features
Spotlight
Microsoft to Yahoo: THIS IS WAR!ADOTAS — Microsoft Corp. doesn’t plan to raise the price of its $44.6 billion takeover bid for Yahoo, Inc. but [...] more...
Latest News
- From the Twitterverse: Gamers Hate On Xbox One May 21st 2013 ADOTAS – Microsoft has unveiled Xbox One, its next-generation entertainment [...] more »
- Brands & the Next Internet Wave: What You Need To Know May 21st 2013 ADOTAS – For brand managers and marketers, the Internet has [...] more »
- Blogshare: Why Tumblr Will Make Yahoo Billions May 21st 2013 ADOTAS (via WordStream) — Here’s why I think Yahoo is [...] more »
- Study: Xbox Reveal Sparks More Social Buzz than Galaxy S4 and Facebook ‘Phone’ Combined May 21st 2013 ADOTAS — The new Xbox gaming console, which will be [...] more »
- Video: Xbox Reveal, 5/21/13 May 21st 2013 ADOTAS – Microsoft unveiled its next-generation Xbox today at a [...] more »
- Live Twitter Feed from Internet Week New York May 20th 2013 ADOTAS – This year’s Internet Week New York (#IWNY) will [...] more »
- Today’s Burning Question: Implications of Yahoo’s Tumblr Acquisition? May 20th 2013 ADOTAS – Today we’ve solicited comments from industry leaders in [...] more »
Features
- Brands & the Next Internet Wave: What You Need To Know May 21st 2013
- Blogshare: Why Tumblr Will Make Yahoo Billions May 21st 2013
- Preview: What’s Happening at Internet Week New York 2013 May 20th 2013
- Video from the Westchester Digital Summit May 17th 2013
- Automating Core Processes Can Reduce ‘Little Big Problems’ That Ruin Customer Relationships May 17th 2013
-
Loading ...
Reader Favorites
Classifieds
- Print and Web Manager
- SEO Marketing PPC Specialist
- Marketing Summer Internship at Clean-Tech Educatio
- Service Line Manager - Digital Media
- SEO / SEM Specialist
Recent Comments
- From the Twitterverse: Gamers Hate On Xbox One: [...] – Microsoft has unveiled Xbox One, its next-generation entertainment console. This is not your
- From the Twitterverse: Xbox One Reaction: [...] ADOTAS – Here’s how the world is reacting to Microsoft’s Xbox One announcement: [...]
- Study: Xbox Reveal Sparks More Social Buzz than Galaxy S4 and Facebook ‘Phone’ Combined: [...] — The new Xbox gaming console, which will be unveiled today, has produced 66,000
- Ben Straley responds to Implications of Yahoo’s Tumblr Acquisition? - Rio SEO Blog: [...] Original article posted here [...]
