Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Gates: Microsoft going 'independent' after withdrawing Yahoo bid (5:12 p.m.)
TOKYO -- Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said Wednesday the company isn't pursuing other deals following the withdrawal of its US$47.5 billion (euro30.7 billion) takeover bid for Yahoo.
He said in Tokyo that the company put "a lot of effort" in the talks with Yahoo and has decided the two should pursue "independent paths."
Over the weekend, Microsoft withdrew its three-month-old unsolicited bid for Yahoo after seeing the impasse with Yahoo's board over a mutually acceptable sales price.
"Now at this point Microsoft is focused on its independent strategy," Gates told reporters.
Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer had orally offered to pay US$33 per share, or US$47.5 billion, for Yahoo, up from an initial bid valued at US$44.6 billion, or US$31 per share.
At the time the negotiations collapsed, the value of Microsoft's original offer had fallen to US$42.3 billion, or $29.40 per share, because half the deal was supposed to be financed with Microsoft's declining stock.
Yahoo's board wanted US$37 per share - a price that the company's stock hasn't reached in more than two years. (AP)
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