Davey Winder
Wednesday, 09 July 2008 05:08
IT Industry -
Market
Page 2 of 4
For example, in a transaction to purchase the whole
company, a very large amount of capital would be due at closing. Even
in an "alternate" transaction, where just the "Search" assets were
purchased, large guarantees would have to be made and, again, large
sums could be lost if the company was mismanaged. Microsoft perceives
this risk may be quite high with the current board and management in
place. However, Steve made it clear to me that if a new board were
elected, he would be interested in discussing a major transaction with
Yahoo!, such as either a transaction to purchase the "Search" function
with large financial guarantees or, in the alternative, purchasing the
whole company. He stated that Microsoft would be willing to enter into
discussion immediately if the new board that has been nominated were
elected. While there can be no assurance of a future transaction, as
many of you know, I have negotiated successfully a large number of
transactions over the past years. If and when elected, I strongly
believe that in very short order the new board would, subject to its
fiduciary duties, be presenting to shareholders either a purchase offer
for the whole company or a very attractive offer to purchase "Search"
with large guarantees. I hope to continue to be speaking to Steve over
the next few weeks; however, since I do not as yet represent the Yahoo!
board, both Steve and I do not wish to get into details over price, or
even which of these transactions makes the most sense.
Much has been said about how badly the Yahoo!
board has "botched up" negotiations with Microsoft over the past
months. There is no need to keep pointing out the mistakes I believe
Yahoo! made by not immediately taking a $33 offer made by Microsoft.
But one thing is clear -- Jerry Yang and the current board of Yahoo!
will not be able to "botch up" a negotiation with Microsoft again,
simply because they will not have the opportunity.
CONTINUES ON NEXT PAGE
Latest Headlines from IT INDUSTRY
