Yahoo Responds to Microsoft Deadline

On Saturday, Steve Ballmer wrote an open letter to Yahoo’s board of directors asking for a response to its January bid within three weeks, stating, “by any fair measure, the large premium we offered in January is even more significant today.” The letter sounds a bit like two kids fighting over a comic book. One kid (Microsoft, Ballmer) thinks that Yahoo isn’t worth as much as the original offer, while the other kid (Yahoo) still thinks it’s worth more than the bid offered in the first place. Today, Yahoo responded to Microsoft’s pressuring three-week deadline stating, “We continue to believe that your proposal is not in the best interests of Yahoo and our stockholders,” and turning the tables by saying that “as a result of the decrease in your own personal stock price, the value of your proposal is significantly lower than it was when you made your initial proposal,” Yahoo said, according to Reuters. As it stands, Yahoo remains unimpressed by Microsoft’s offer, and the deals are still waiting on the table. Microsoft’s attempt at lighting a fire under Yahoo sounds failed, and I wonder what will happen if another offer isn’t made by the three-week deadline. Will Microsoft suddenly forget that it set a timetable and place yet another, higher bid? Or will it walk away from this playground brawl altogether?