Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer reiterated today that he was prepared to walk away from his attempt to buy Yahoo if his other options don’t look good.
Ballmer made his comments during a regularly scheduled town hall meeting with employees, during which workers questioned him about Microsoft’s pursuit of Yahoo.
Recent reports have suggested that the software company’s rank-and-file are growing uneasy about Ballmer’s pursuit of the struggling Internet giant.
Ballmer choices as we have pointed out are to increase Microsoft’s $31 per share offer for Yahoo, go hostile and take the offer directly to shareholders, or walk away.
“We’ve got basically the three big options in front of us. There’s the friendly deal, there’s an unfriendly deal, third path is simply to walk away. Given (that the acquisition is just part of a larger) strategy – if neither of those look good, we walk away,” he told employees.
“I know exactly what I think Yahoo is worth and I won’t go a dime above,” he said, adding that Microsoft should be in a position to make an announcement about Yahoo “in very short order.”
Ballmer explained to employees that buying Yahoo was part of a strategy to propel Microsoft into a leading position in Internet media and online advertising. “It accelerates scale. It gets us more advertisers, gets us search. Yahoo’s not a strategy. It’s a part of a strategy,” he said.
The Wall Street Journal yesterday reported Microsoft might raise its bid to as much as $ 33 per Yahoo share, in an attempt to avoid a hostile takeover.
The report, citing people familiar with the situation, said Microsoft failed to reach a final decision following a board meeting on Wednesday. Directors were understood to have given Ballmer broad discretion to either go hostile or abandon the Yahoo pursuit.
Yahoo has long insisted Microsoft’s offer substantially undervalues the Internet company. Top Yahoo shareholders have indicated they want $35 to $37 a share, while Microsoft’s original cash-and-stock offer for Yahoo was recently valued at $29.35 per share.
