Microsoft also emphasized it’s prepared to “pursue all necessary steps” to get the deal done, raising the prospect that it could take the bid directly to Yahoo shareholders with a so-called “exchange offer” or escalate the acrimony even further by trying to oust Yahoo’s 10-member board later this year.While assessing its response to Microsoft, Yahoo’s board also examined a wide range of alternatives that included forging an ad partnership with Google, which paid nearly $5 billion in marketing commissions to thousands of Web sites last year.
Without identifying its sources, the Times of London also reported Yahoo is exploring a merger with Time Warner Inc.’s AOL, another popular Internet property that has been struggling in recent years. A Yahoo spokesman declined to comment on the report.
Investors appear convinced Microsoft’s bid remains Yahoo’s best bet, given the Sunnyvale-based company’s profits have been steadily declining despite a management shake up eight months ago and repeated promises of a turnaround extending back to 2006.
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