Yahoo's board responds to Microsoft's recent ultimatum with a yes-no-maybe. Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang repeated in a letter
dated April 7 that Microsoft's bid undervalues the company.
Addressing Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer as
"Steve," Yang added that the company's board "continue[s] to
believe that your proposal is not in the best interests of Yahoo and our
stockholders."
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Yang also admonished Ballmer for misrepresenting the state of negotiations
between the two companies.
"We regret to say that your letter mischaracterizes the nature of our
discussions with you. We have had constructive conversations together regarding
a variety of topics, including integration and regulatory issues," the
letter states.
Ballmer threatens Yahoo with a hostile takeover. Read more here.
However, the letter is also significant because it states that Yahoo is
not opposed in principle to a deal with Microsoft. Yang maintained in the
letter that Microsoft's initial bid undervalued Yahoo and added that
Microsoft's current valuation has also suffered since the initial bid, making
its offer even less attractive.
In defending Yahoo's value, Yang pointed to a three-year plan the company
recently unveiled, as well as recent strategic moves.
His letter, while somewhat conciliatory, can also be seen as the
outlines of a defense that Yang can take to shareholders in the event that
Microsoft follows through with its threat to begin a proxy fight.
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