Yahoo says it needs time to mull MS offer
Yahoo Inc said it may take "quite a bit of time" to weigh its strategic
options, including keeping the company independent, following Microsoft
Corp's $45 billion offer to buy the company.
In a weekend posting on the company's Web site, Yahoo said it was
undertaking a deliberate review of Microsoft's unsolicited offer to pay
Yahoo shareholders either $31 in cash, or 0.9509 of a share of
Microsoft common stock.
The review "will include evaluating all of the Company's strategic
alternatives including maintaining Yahoo! as an independent company,"
the posting said. "A review process like this is fluid, and it can take
quite a bit of time."
In response to a frequently asked question about whether Yahoo would
seek proposals from other companies, also posted on its Web site, the
company said it was going to evaluate all options.
Analysts cited Comcast Corp, Viacom Inc and General Electric Co among
possible bidders, although they also said few companies had the balance
sheet to compete with Microsoft or were as natural a fit for Yahoo.
Microsoft's bold move to buy the Silicon Valley company would create a
combined entity better able to respond to the growing dominance of
Google Inc in Web search and digital advertising.
Microsoft said it has courted Yahoo for the last 18 months, but its
earlier approaches were rebuffed and it decided to make its offer
public to Yahoo shareholders.
Yahoo shares shot up about 48 percent to $28.33 on the news of Microsoft's offer.
