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Top Yahoo Shareholder 'Extremely Angry' with Yang, Board

Posted May 06, 2008 11:51am EDT by Aaron Task in Investing, Internet, Venture Capital, M and A, IPOs

Faced with a fierce and public rebuke from its top institutional shareholders, Yahoo's leadership has done some major backpedaling in the past 24 hours.

"They chose to walk away after we put a price on the table, and they didn't want to negotiate," Yahoo co-founder and CEO Jerry Yang told The New York Times.

To Reuters, Yang said: "If they have anything new to say, we would be open...I am more than willing to listen."

Meanwhile, Yahoo chairman Roy Bostock told The Wall Street Journal that $37 "was not a take-it-or-leave it statement."

These statements, as well as Yahoo's contention -- repeated by Sue Decker in her Tech Ticker interview -- that Microsoft never made a $33 bid seems to be a coordinated effort to both get Microsoft back to the table and appease irate shareholders.

On the latter front, Yang, Bostock and Yahoo's board came under blistering attack from the firm's largest shareholder: Gordon Crawford of Capital Research Global Investors, whose parent firm owns 16% of Tech Ticker's parent.

"I am extremely angry at Jerry Yang and at the so-called independent board," Crawford told The New York Times.

Echoing Legg Mason's Bill Miller, Crawford also took umbrage with Bostock's contention that Yahoo shareholders supported the board's negotiating tactics. "I would love to know who these shareholders are," Crawford said. "It's none of the ones that I talked to today. Everybody I talked to would have sold their stock at $34."

If nothing else, these are extraordinary developments in a saga that may yet have more twists and turns ahead.

66 Comments

- Tuesday May 06, 2008 12:06PM EDT

"What is Greed"

- Tuesday May 06, 2008 12:12PM EDT

It is very understandable that mr. Crawford is extremely angry,NOT...Are we supposed to believe that CRGI would push for a higher price from MSFT since they (crgi)also own msft's? This is all part of the act that Mr. Ballmer wants them to play as their role in this game. I'll be extremely surprised if msft doesn't come to close the deal !!! Mr. Ballmer's strategy didn't really work 100% since yhoo "s share price didn't tank to $20. below and msft"s gaining atleast 5%.

- Tuesday May 06, 2008 12:14PM EDT

Why isn't Henry Blodgett in jail? Get rid of him and Yahoo IS worth $37/share. With him $1.92. He just shows what idiots are running Yahoo.

- Tuesday May 06, 2008 12:15PM EDT

I said it 6 weeks ago and I"ll say it one more time $34 gets the deal done. STAND BY FOLKS, Tommie Boy

Paul
Paul - Tuesday May 06, 2008 12:21PM EDT

Yang didn't want to part with his baby.

- Tuesday May 06, 2008 12:25PM EDT

hey who is talking there is so foolish.. stop this nonsence

Yahoo! Finance User
Yahoo! Finance User - Tuesday May 06, 2008 12:25PM EDT

i don't know though, I'm sure those angry shareholders were going to give those extra dollars (per share) to someone who really needs the money like indonesia. a few extra dollars these days could feed a family of eight in indonesia for a day. damn those greedy people in indonesia! long live america! j/k...sad world we live in.

- Tuesday May 06, 2008 12:25PM EDT

Henry, you're the one to whine. Why don't you instead bash INSP? You don't even measure to Yang's pinky.

- Tuesday May 06, 2008 12:26PM EDT

Everybody should understand the strategy of MSFT in purchase of companies which they want to. They like play games and want to pay as less as they expect. I believe the board of Yahoo want a deal too but the price should be reasonable. I really think MSFT will come back later if most of the shareholders of Yahoo support their board.

- Tuesday May 06, 2008 12:28PM EDT

Greed is bad or definitely counterproductive

Yahoo! Finance User
Yahoo! Finance User - Tuesday May 06, 2008 12:30PM EDT

Thank god it never happen. Msft is always missing up other people. Who cares, who is the biggiest in the game?

- Tuesday May 06, 2008 12:31PM EDT

Yahoo stock will rebound I am quite confident. I almost feel sorry for Yang and company with all the criticism afloat. If they sold at less than 31 they felt undervalued. If they held out and got no deal then they dropped the ball. It was almost always a no win situation for Yahoo from the very beginning. Microsoft should come back to the table because with Yahoo under their wing combined with MSN they could virtually rule the Internet. I have a strong feeling that this is more cat and mouse and is not really over yet. Very seldomly does Microsoft NOT get what they want. do

- Tuesday May 06, 2008 12:31PM EDT

People who believe in stock market day to day price and not on their capabilities as a company behave like Crawford did.This is as good as day to day vegetable vendor business feeling the price lost in yesterdays tomoto's bought.Yahoo has been an independant company for 15 years parallel to microsoft.Who knows?.Microsoft may go bankrupt when some new company emerges with out of box technology.If microsoft has capability,they would have made msn compete with google.Microsoft is showing rock age survival theory signs like big fish eating small fish

Yahoo! Finance User
Yahoo! Finance User - Tuesday May 06, 2008 12:33PM EDT

People who believe in stock market day to day price and not on their capabilities as a company behave like Crawford did.This is as good as day to day vegetable vendor business feeling the price lost in yesterdays tomoto's bought.Yahoo has been an independant company for 15 years parallel to microsoft.Who knows?.Microsoft may go bankrupt when some new company emerges with out of box technology.If microsoft has capability,they would have made msn compete with google.Microsoft is showing rock age survival theory signs like big fish eating small fish

- Tuesday May 06, 2008 12:33PM EDT

I'd like to see the negotiators back to the table but minus Mr. Yang.

- Tuesday May 06, 2008 12:36PM EDT

blodgett's "advice" has cost investers far more money that all of the people he mentioned...including me!

- Tuesday May 06, 2008 12:37PM EDT

Mr. Yang own a yahoo shares?

- Tuesday May 06, 2008 12:37PM EDT

Yang to be ousted as ceo..greedy egotist

Yahoo! Finance User
Yahoo! Finance User - Tuesday May 06, 2008 12:38PM EDT

yagh

Yahoo! Finance User
Yahoo! Finance User - Tuesday May 06, 2008 12:43PM EDT

Poor decision making by the 'independent' board to allow the person least likely to make a deal, or even analyze the company dispassionately, to be the primary negotiator. I suppose they also support the concept that only a person's mother should be on the jury for an alleged murderer...moms can always see the potential good in their children no matter what.

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