The three-week deadline that Microsoft Corp. gave Yahoo Inc. to come to an agreement on its unsolicited bid for the Internet media company passed without any announcement from either side, leading to the possibility that the battle for Yahoo is about to turn hostile.
Microsoft (MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer had given Yahoo’s board of directors until Saturday to agree to its proposal or face a possible tender offer and proxy battle.
Reports suggested that Yahoo’s (YHOO) board of directors might hold a meeting Sunday to talk about their options, but nothing official had been confirmed.
Microsoft officials were also reportedly preparing a response to Yahoo that could come out Monday or Tuesday. Speaking in Madrid last week, Ballmer reiterated that his company saw no reason to raise its bid for Yahoo above the current price, which now values Yahoo at $29.68 a share.
“This is crunch time for both of them,” said Crawford Del Prete, an analyst with technology research firm IDC. Del Prete said each side in likely weighing their options ahead of what could be a flurry of activity when the market opens Monday.
“The ball is in Yahoo’s court, and Microsoft knows that. I think we’re going to hear something by Monday morning, or Tuesday at the very latest.”
The drama began when Microsoft stunned the corporate world in February when it unveiled a blockbuster bid to buy Yahoo for $31 a share in a stock-and-cash deal initially valued at $44.6 billion. The proposed merger was seen as a bold move to catch up with Microsoft’s nemesis in the online world, Google Inc. (GOOG)
Filed under: Politics | Tagged: bidding war, Business, Google, hostile takeover, Microsoft, Yahoo
