The Week: City news - Microsoft angers Yahoo!

Campaign 11-Apr-08

Yahoo! has attacked Microsoft after its chief executive, Steve Ballmer, wrote a letter to the company warning that he will launch a hostile takeover bid if it does not agree to a merger within the next three weeks.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, Microsoft threatened
to reduce the $44.6 billion (£22.5 billion) offer it
originally made in January and replace the Yahoo! board with its own

directors if it fails to agree terms. Yahoo! countered by accusing

Microsoft of "mischaracterising the nature of our discussions" in the
letter and repeated that the original offer substantially undervalues
the business.