By DPA
San Francisco : Two days after Microsoft slapped a deadline on its buyout offer, a previously reluctant Yahoo! signalled Monday that it was ready to strike a deal, but said it was worth far more than the $41 billion package offered.
“We are not opposed to a transaction with Microsoft if it is in the best interests of our stockholders,” the board of the internet giant wrote in an open letter to Microsoft chairman Steve Ballmer.
“Our position is simply that any transaction must be at a value that fully reflects the value of Yahoo!, including any strategic benefits to Microsoft, and on terms that provide certainty to our stockholders,” the board wrote.
Microsoft warned Saturday it would launch a hostile takeover bid if Yahoo didn’t accept its buyout terms by April 26.
It originally offered a cash and stock bid worth $44.6 billion in late February, a 62 percent premium over Yahoo!’s price prior to the bid, but stock fluctuations have now made the offer worth around 41 billion dollars.
Microsoft warned that a hostile takeover would proceed at less attractive terms.
In its letter, the Yahoo! board maintained that the Microsoft deadline was “counterproductive and inconsistent with your stated objective of a friendly transaction”.
Yahoo! also wrote that the two companies had held several “constructive” meetings to discuss the deal.