Yahoo Said To Reject Microsoft Bid

(AP)  Yahoo Inc.'s board plans to reject Microsoft Corp.'s bid to buy the Internet pioneer, The Wall Street Jornal reported on its Web site Saturday.

Board members concluded the unsolicited $44.6 billion offer massively undervalues the Web giant, a person familiar with the situation told the newspaper.

The $31 per share bid was made public on Feb. 1. Board members so far would only say they were studying the offer.

Yahoo's board intends to send a letter to Microsoft on Monday explaining its decision, persons close to the company said.

Microsoft and Yahoo representatives did not immediately return calls for comment.

The slumping Internet company's rejection of the offer might mean they're getting ready for a long battle, analysts said.

Board members believe Microsoft is attempting to take advantage of a recent slump in share price to take over. But they're not ready to consider any offer below $40 per share, according to a person knowledgeable about the discussions.

Yahoo appears to be counting on Microsoft's reluctance to engage in a hostile takeover.

Ignoring the wishes of management and the board and creating resentment among the Web giant's engineers could also make it harder to push the deal past authorities, as Yahoo officials could try to convince regulators that the deal is anticompetitive.

But analysts are uncertain whether Microsoft would be up to paying the higher price per share, which would raise its bid by about $12 million.

[tweedle02]

And yet, we still continue to rely so heavily on the computer systems. When they go out, it cripples whom ever is using or needs that particular system. It''s almost as if we have forgotten how to "WRITE" information on paperwork. Yahoo?? Microsoft??? Hmmm.... something really interesting going on here. Don''t believe this "marriage" is going to work.

[radiomanokc]

Bill Gates is a idiot. And Microsoft is a bad company they rip off customers! And their support team are worthless.

[nearl4511]

I don''t understand the position.

While I am not a Yahoo fan, it would seem to be in Yahoo''s interest to take the deal.

Google is really outdoing them and MS may be the only way to try to "monopolize" on the situation

[taylor1277]

Why is Yahoo up for sale,why did jerry Yang come back he isnt doing anything better than the last person in charge.The problem with Yahoo is that Jerry Yang like everyone else at Yahoo is waiting for their big payoff,you might as well call it the biggest hoacks on the internet ever.Jerry Yang came back for a second piece of the pie.Yahoo wouldnt have been where it is today except it got rid of or screwed up some thing like Yahoo Photos,discussion board on Yahoo News,know their *** up Yahoo bookmarks,mail and whatever else they can.If i was microsoft i wouldnt give them more than 20.00 a share.I would have given Yahoo 40.00 a share 10 years ago,but today Microsoft your stupid if you do.Yahoo isnt worth half of what it was 10 years ago.Google says that their going to help Yahoo,what better way to destroy a ship than to climb aboard and help pull the pins from within.

[nothappyatall]

"ahoo''s board intends to send a letter to Microsoft on Monday explaining its decision"

WHats to explain and why bother? just send them a one word letter : "NO"

"Yahoo appears to be counting on Microsoft''s reluctance to engage in a hostile takeover."

Hostile? how is it ''hostile'' to make an offer to buy at the lowest possible price like ANYONE would want to do?
I hardly call it ''hostile'' when the one offered the deal can simply say phux off, NO! what part of ''NO'' dont you understand?

[sevenveils]

Microsoft was gunning for AOL and Yahoo''s business as a portal prior to Google''s landing on the Web. MS has tried for more than a decade to capture the Web with original lackluster products such as msn, passports and now live.

[beehive21-2009]

Yahoo is over valued ,why ,laying off 1000 ,shows a tail spin in the works.the companies are all worthless w/o power ?

[alphaa10-2009]

Microsoft claims it got an unsolicited offer from Yahoo, but Yahoo says MS made the first move. Based on MS''s public record of prevarication and creative spin-marketing, the MS record testifies against its own claim. In fact, Yahoo does not want to sell-- especially at a fire-sale price.

The ugly truth is Microsoft already has failed in the market sector Yahoo serves much better. This rankles Microsoft, which usually enters a market by buyout, not innovation. Were there any real MS innovation in play, MS never would have had to offer to buy out Yahoo, in the first place.

Despite what MS public relations flaks will tell you, Windows users are not MS boosters, but frustrated by the insecurity, crankiness, petty limitations and foibles of MS products. They got their Windows licenses by purchasing a computer, not by a study of the viable market alternatives, including Linux and Apple. Domination of the market channel always has been the key to MS success-- not product excellence.

And most MS users already know how MS obtained its market share-- by hook, crook and buyout-- and feel as frustrated as those of any captive proprietary market.
Such people welcome a fluid and competititve situation with multiple players, such as open source promises.

MS, for its part, wants to reduce the field, and does not welcome competition. Consider theirs a hostile takeover bid.

[michellem99-2009]

i have read MS has done Vista to not allow Google to be on COMPUTER running the new OS...MS VISTA BLEW THE FIREWORKS MAKING THE NEW YEAR IM SEATTLE..I was pissed. It is poorly done and now they want YAHOO. I think not..I like Google over Yahoo. I will use whatever one I want..

[occams_taser]

yahoo is really poorly run. they had a huge advantage but they squandered it. their new mail beta is horribly slow and buggy and their spam filter is terrible and doesn''t get any better no matter how many emails you flag as spam.
yahoo news discussion boards were a disaster they had to turn off.
yahoo personal ads came out first but ended up doing nothing, they didn''t improve that service for 8 years.
the only thing yahoo did right was "my yahoo" and they haven''t manage to improve on it.