Microsoft withdraws its proposal

Posted May 3rd, 2008 at 7:34 pm by Nicki Dugan, Blog Editor

 24 Comments / Filed in: Trends & News

In case you haven’t already seen the news, Microsoft today withdrew its proposal to acquire Yahoo!. Here’s our press release, with comments from Yahoo! board chairman Roy Bostock and CEO Jerry Yang.

Nicki Dugan
Blog Editor

Tagged: microsoft, news

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24 Comments Add your own

Matt | May 3rd, 2008 at 7:39 pm

Congratulations Yahoo! At least Microsoft won’t be able to monopolize the internet now.

Lui! | May 3rd, 2008 at 8:17 pm

Ya know, this is just one thing that makes my day, independence and fighting spirit. I love you guys!! Thanx for staying like that!! We can beat ‘em no doubt!! Thanx Mr. Yang and the board!! This is just great!! I’ll raise my glass from where I am to you!! This is one of many many victories to come!! Hail to Yahoo!

Regis Frey | May 3rd, 2008 at 8:22 pm

I’m glad Yahoo wasn’t acquired. I use several Yahoo services (most affectionately Flickr) and, as a user, was worried how the may fare in the less than gentile hands of Microsoft. I think Yahoo has a lot of potential going forward. As a web developer I think that Yahoo’s code initiative is a step in the right direction. I hope that Yahoo can pull out of this mess and prove its value as an independent company.

chris dalton | May 3rd, 2008 at 9:15 pm

So Yang decides that his pathetic company is better off without Mister Softee. is this the same sorry yahoo that has been in a death spiral for years. Great decision Jerry. One of many lousy ones you have made. YHOO is now and will always be a SELL SELL SELL. SHORT SHORT SHORT

Phil B. | May 3rd, 2008 at 9:23 pm

Will Yahoo be formally apologizing to its shareholders prior to the management being thrown into shareholder lawsuits until the end of time?

I can’t understand why the Egos here allowed them to be so careless with shareholder money. I lost a lot of hard earned money here, and that hurts. I hope that one day they understand the level of pain and anguish they caused in other people’s lives.

Don Schreiner | May 3rd, 2008 at 10:33 pm

The rejection of Microsoft’s offer to purchase Yahoo is a self serving effort by the management of Yahoo to remain in control for personal reasons and neglects the interest of Yahoo shareholders. Yahoo has consistently underdelivered compared to other internet companies. An acceptance of the Microsoft offer is the only rational and logical response from a management team dedicated to maximizing shareholder value.

gag | May 4th, 2008 at 12:40 am

wow

Ramesh Gopalakrishnan | May 4th, 2008 at 12:41 am

Great move. We certainly deserve to be independent.. I am a proud Yahoooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kevin O | May 4th, 2008 at 3:44 am

While this may seem like a “success” within Yahoo, I must ask if the shareholder interests were served here. Remember, the shareholder interests are to extract the most value possible in the marketplace from the company. Most of the time, this deals with running the company. However, sometimes it is done by selling the company.

When you take the premium MS was willing to pay, and you factor in time value of money, I would love the execs at Yahoo to estimate when the shareholders will get back what they could have received had Yahoo agreed to the MS deal?

Will the Execs say this and estimate this for us?

Todd Longfellow | May 4th, 2008 at 5:35 am

Great news! Although I am not a Microsoft Hater, its online services are mediocre at best, and I would hate to see Yahoo! sink any lower in the market.

Yahoo! used to be great, but why the slip? If I had one message to give to the founders, it would be - Hey, you’ve forgotten your roots! You’ve forgotten who and what put you in first place! Your allegiance should be to your everyday users, not the stockholders. Why did everyone flock to Google when Yahoo! had the best and most comprehensive search engine and database? - Google has a simple interface with a minimum of glitz, glitter, popups, and superfluous services. Although they seem headed that way now. Yahoo! got too busy trying to grab everybody. Then you dropped important services like foreign news feeds, and you’ve never really tied the great service of Yahoo! Groups into the main interface. You’ve cluttered up the user interface to the point where it’s a turn-off. See myway.com if you’ve forgotten what you used to look like.

Marketing and targeting your audience is a no-brainer. All you really need to do is ASK your users to fill out a simple form about their preferences for ad categories. Dump the stupid dancing figures and other animations that have become so tiresome - the Internet is not TV; abandon ALL popups; stick to clean and simple ads that are of interest to the user (remember the form), and you will see your advertising dollars roll in at levels unheard of. Clean up your interface, trim the fat, and put back in the truly value-added services and you may be able to pull yourself back up. These are old suggestions and ones that were ignored a few years ago. Perhaps they shouldn’t have been.

Siddharth | May 4th, 2008 at 6:18 am

I am glad that Microsoft after all leaved all Yahoo’s alone. MSN is a different thing then Yahoo! and both are at their own place. I was just got terrified when first time I got aware that Microsoft is thinking to acquire Y! but now I can relax that everything is back to normal.

Wishes for the more great time we will have in future!!!

Simon Prince | May 4th, 2008 at 9:33 am

Dear Jerry / BOD,

You are all delusional. Sign me up for the class action. Where was your fiduciary responsibility to the shareholders?! It seems it became to be more a matter of a pride and ego than good business sense. I would have been thrilled to get $33/share. I know, and have seen tons of shareholders posting all over the internet who would have jumped at $33. I’m not sure about all this supposed shareholder support you had for turning this offer down. Bill Miller of Legg Mason didn’t seem to be holding out for $37 with his public statements. Capital Research Management increased their stake in Q1 to see you turn down this offer and let the stock plummet?!

You have had years to improve the business on your own. The business has eroded… share volume is dwindling. You are admitting Panama is a failure with all the Google outsourcing talk. Growth has slowed in other areas.. Your overly optomistic presentation mid Q1 with wild projections about the worth of the company didnt fool anyone. Q1 was only ‘OK’… maybe if you raised guidance and painted a brighter picture for the future at the CC… but, you didn’t.

If there is something you have up your sleeves you best speak up now before the stock crashes tomorrow!

Fred | May 4th, 2008 at 9:40 am

Hello,
I have always liked products/services from Yahoo and Microsoft over those that are offered by Google. Thus I was excited about the possibility of a merger between Yahoo and Microsoft. I was saddened by the news that the merger has not got through.

Regards,
Fred

Elise McClintick | May 4th, 2008 at 11:33 am

I’m sure this will be pulled but I’m a shareholder and want to say that Mr. Yang’s and the Board’s decision to not accept Microsoft’s offer certainly indicates the company’s willingness to put the employees above the sharesholders. Shareholders are getting ready to lose billions of dollars and today’s response to Microsoft’s announcement is WEAK. I suspect that Mr. Yang will not have a job this time next year.

Glen Lananna | May 4th, 2008 at 11:55 am

Thanks Mr. YANG I AM TOTALLY BROKE NOW DUE TO YOUR INCOMPETANCE—CAN YOU LEND A BROKE FATHER OF 2 JUST ABOUT 10 GRAND SO THAT MY WIFE WONT KNOW WHAT THE HELL I JUST DID WITH OUR LIFE SAVINGS????!?!?!?!?!I BOUGHT CALL OPTIONS ON YOUR STOCK–THE MAY 30 CALLS AND NOW THEY WILL BE WORTHLESS— IM NOT KIDDING. I MEAN THIS AND I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO NOW.

Joy Thoma | May 4th, 2008 at 2:46 pm

Hurrah! I have been using Yahoo! Mail for many years, have set up a group, etc. I love Yahoo, esp. its commitment to - and vigilance around - security. I have been concerned about the takeover, and sadly set up a gmail account as a Plan B. No way could Microsoft be good for Yahoo! quality.

I am relieved and happy. Thank you, Yahoo! for fighting to stay free.

Kay | May 4th, 2008 at 3:17 pm

Good for you Yahoo! Thank you for not letting MicroSoft take over!

Kay Meyer
Glendale, CA

adam | May 4th, 2008 at 4:02 pm

Congratulations! Yahoo shareholders buy Yahoo stock because they want to take on additional risk with the potential for additional reward. If they had wanted a psuedo-bluechip like Microsoft, they would have bought Microsoft. Remaining independent will keep this game interesting. Now it’s on all of you to pull it together and start delivering some really interesting stuff. I’m excited to see how it plays out!

Richard Dombrovski | May 4th, 2008 at 4:23 pm

Yahoo managements turning down of a very reasonable offer from Microsoft is just what you should have expected when you put the companies founder back in the top position on your board of directors. He has forced a decision based solely on his feelings as founder of the company and ignored the best interests of his shareholders , employees and the faithful users of all of Yahoo’s wonderful services. Microsoft’s offer was more than generous given the historical performance of Yahoo. I have been a shareholder on and off since Yahoo’s inception. I purchased shares on the first day of the IPO because of my belief in the company and the quality of it’s services. The recent decision by Yahoo will have several effects. The share price will soon be back in the high teens. Layoffs will begin to carve away the talent that made Yahoo the company that it was. Finally, Microsoft or some other bargain hunter will end up acquiring the rotted carcass of Yahoo for a price far lower than the original offer. Thanks much Mr. Yang. Well, at least you will still be a billionare.

Russell | May 4th, 2008 at 5:55 pm

Your ad serving system is far better than MSN’s and I think maybe Yahoo will prevail with its dedication and committment. Stay strong Yahoo!

Jay | May 4th, 2008 at 7:05 pm

Thank goodness that Microsoft will not be acquiring Yahoo. There’s still a chance for a merger with AOL or some other company that isn’t Microsoft or Google.

Mark Bradley | May 5th, 2008 at 9:38 am

Microsoft’s successful acquisition of Yahoo would have meant less choice, less services, and less innovation for the internet community. Microsoft has a well-documented history of buying companies and products in order to monopolize a market, and then screwing over consumers, and not innovating.

Yahoo’s talks with Google about using Google’s advertising engine was not an admission of the superiority of Google’s engine, rather, it was a “poison pill” designed to keep Microsoft from acquiring Yahoo.
MSN loses money for Microsoft. In contradistinction, Yahoo is profitable. Does anyone seriously believe that Yahoo could be absorbed and managed better by Microsoft - if so, stop drinking the kool-aid - you are delusional!

Finally, Mr. Glen Lananna, you posted earlier about Jerry Yang’s incompetence costing you $10,000 in call options. Sir, assuming you are real, are the incompetent one. No saavy Wall Street investor would advise you to put all of your life savings into _ANY_ one stock. You read the news reports, you knew the deal was in trouble. You accepted the risk. Now go tell your wife what you did, and start rebuilding your savings!

Mary Barrett Taggart | May 5th, 2008 at 11:55 am

Mr. Bradley, when I graduated law school and B-school, I left each school with a lot more knowledge than I had before. I also left each school with my sense of decency intact.

Regarding your remarks to Mr. Lananna: While I agree that such an investment would have been unwise, there was absolutely no reason for you to go there except to kick someone when he was down. Shame on you.

daniel stefanetti | May 15th, 2008 at 12:31 pm

coucou,
i posted mails twice…you did not even have the responsability to publish them, lack of courage and inspiration… i am very happy that bid carl is putting some fire under you…we’ll see…as i said i manage a multi BILLION $ portfolio in Luxembourg and believe me i WILL tender my shares to MSFT for 33$ and now even for 31$!!!! now shoe if you still block my mail on a 3rd attempt…