Free Newsletters
InfoWorld Daily

InfoWorld
Log-in | Register

Yahoo: Microsoft deal would put Yahoo out of search business

Yahoo's board defends its actions, saying Microsoft was not serious about the negotiations


Yahoo's management on Monday filed a presentation to shareholders aiming to cast doubt on Microsoft's sincerity in negotiating to buy the company, while defending its own actions.

Yahoo's board of directors face a shareholder vote on Aug. 1 that could see their ouster if activist investor Carl Icahn has his way. The presentation offers Yahoo management's defense that their handling of the Microsoft negotiations was correct and that they should remain in their posts.

The 32-page presentation details extensive talks with Microsoft that appeared to be moving forward until an abrupt end. In fact, the timeline shows what appear to be negotiating tactics aimed at buying Yahoo without further discussion of price.

According to Yahoo's timeline, Microsoft and Yahoo representatives first met on Feb. 26 to begin negotiations. By March, the two companies were talking about regulatory issues, but Yahoo insists it asked for information that was never delivered, a sign the Internet company said shows that Microsoft was not serious about the negotiations. On April 5, Microsoft threatened a proxy battle and a reduced price for Yahoo if the agreement wasn't concluded in three weeks on Microsoft's terms. Soon after, Yahoo sent a letter to Microsoft that it was open to a deal but not at the proposed $31 per share.

[ For the complete saga of Microsoft's unsuccessful bid to take over Yahoo, check out InfoWorld's special report ]

Yahoo then revealed events in the days leading up to Microsoft pulling the plug on the deal. According to Yahoo, on May 2, "Microsoft orally states that it is willing to pay $33 per share" but the "Microsoft representative tells Yahoo representative not to come back at $38." A day later, Yahoo proposed $37 per share and "Microsoft withdraws its proposal hours after the meeting."

The presentation also details why Microsoft's offer for Yahoo's search assets was not good for Yahoo, and defends management's decision to enter a deal with Google instead. Yahoo said it expects $250 million to $450 million in incremental operating cash flow during the first year of the Google agreement but no meaningful change in its operating cash flow or profitability in the Microsoft case, despite an offer of a $1 billion up-front cash payment by Microsoft.

The Microsoft deal would put Yahoo at the mercy of Microsoft's ability to monetize search, which hasn't been competitive with Google, Yahoo said. Ultimately, the Microsoft deal would put Yahoo out of the search business. Microsoft could not immediately be reached for comment.

Yahoo spent the remainder of the presentation defending management's record and strategy to turn Yahoo into a more highly profitable company.

It also called Icahn's solution to re-enter talks with Microsoft "not the right answer." Yahoo then went on to sling mud at Icahn's investment record in a slide that shows 15 companies in which the investor has been involved with recently, most of them showing sharp declines in their share prices.


Talkback:

commentPost a Comment

 

MOST COMMENTS

 
 





COMPREHENSIVE DATA PROTECTION AND DISASTER RECOVERY
Traditional backup and recovery is becoming irrelevant. You need more. Watch this InfoWorld and Dell Equallogic webcast to learn the current trends in Comprehensive Data Protection and Disaster Recovery for VMware Virtual Infrastructure. Sponsored by Dell Equallogic:

»  Click here to view this Webcast
  Virtualization Solutions Guide
This comprehensive IT Strategy Guide covers Virtualization and puts you at the forefront of the discussion. You'll learn all you need to know from the cost of virtualization, how to implement it for your business, how to back it up safely and which products are best. Sponsored by Riverbed

»  Click here to download now

- Special Advertising Partners -
WHITE PAPERS
 

» Technology White Papers Library

Technology White Papers by Topic

Technology White Papers E-mail Alert

Find out when the latest white paper is available:
 
 
INFOWORLD MARKETPLACE
 
» BUY A LINK NOW
 
 

Video

 
 
 

Podcasts

 
IFW Daily 12/04/2008

Sun enters RIA realm with JavaFX, Adobe says it will cut 600 jobs, AMD...

 
 
 

Columnists

 
 
 

Resource Center


Ads by techwords beta  [See your link here]
 




Sponsored Technology Links

 
 
 HOME  NEWS  BLOGS  PODCASTS  VIDEOS  TECHNOLOGIES  TEST CENTER  EVENTS   About | Advertise | Awards | RSS | Contact Us 

Copyright © 2008, Reprints, Permissions, Licensing, IDG Network, Privacy Policy, Terms of Service.
All Rights reserved. InfoWorld is a leading publisher of technology information and product reviews on topics including viruses,
phishing, worms, firewalls, security, servers, storage, networking, wireless, databases, and web services.

CIO :: ComputerWorld :: CSO :: Demo :: GamePro :: Games.net :: IDG Connect :: IDG World Expo
Industry Standard :: IT World :: JavaWorld :: LinuxWorld :: MacUser :: Macworld :: Network World :: PC World :: Playlist
TecChannel :: TecCommunity