On Friday there was talk that Microsoft was working on “sweetening” a deal for Yahoo, bringing the stock up to almost $30 bucks, before closing slightly above $28. Well, Yahoo rejected Microsoft’s final offer of $47.5 billion over the weekend, saying it was still too low. So, rather than face a lengthy and non-cost-effective hostile take over, Microsoft has backed off entirely from buying Yahoo.
The opening price this morning on Yahoo stock: $23.05. Many shareholders are very unhappy the deal fell through. Now the pressure is on for Yahoo’s CEO Jerry Yang to show he can increase the value of the company. What’s next? Check out Miguel Helft’s NYT story on what could happen to Yahoo after Microsoft. Could a Google partnership truly be a possibility?