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Boss of Yahoo 'against any bid'
Bill Condie, Evening Standard03.06.08
Angry investors claim that Microsoft was last year prepared to pay $40 a share for Yahoo, valuing it at a massive $57.6 billion (£29 billion), but founder and chief executive Jerry Yang had set himself against any bid before an offer was even made, court documents reveal.
Yahoo shares closed at $26.40 yesterday.
Microsoft eventually walked away from a $33-a-share, $47.5 billion bid for Yahoo after the pair could not agree on price.
But lawyers for investors suing Yahoo claim that company executives "gave the back of their hand" to Microsoft's efforts to reach agreement.
They say that Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer was prepared to make the $40-a-share offer in January last year, but that had come down to $33 when the bid was resurrected earlier this year.
Microsoft finally called it a day on 3 May.
Board minutes revealed in the court in Delaware show that Yang had a press release rejecting a Microsoft takeover bid drafted in October last year, months before January's unsolicited offer was made.
Some Yahoo shareholders seek to hold Yang and other directors liable for failing to accept the Microsoft offer, and want the company to drop its takeover defence systems.
