Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Microsoft Retracts Yahoo Offer

CEO Steven Ballmer refuses to pay $37 per share

By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff

Posted May 3, 2008 7:42 PM CDT
Email

(Newser) – Microsoft withdrew its latest offer to buy Yahoo today after the companies' chief execs haggled over price at a Seattle meeting, the New York Times reports. Microsoft CEO Steven Ballmer offered $33 per share, but Yahoo's Jerry Yang wanted $4 per share more in the blockbuster deal.

"Despite our best efforts, including raising our bid by roughly $5 billion, Yahoo has not moved toward accepting our offer," Ballmer wrote in a press release, the Wall Street Journal reports. "After careful consideration, we believe the economics demanded by Yahoo do not make sense for us, and it is in the best interests of Microsoft stockholders, employees and other stakeholders to withdraw our proposal."

Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang gives a keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Monday, Jan. 7, 2008.
Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang gives a keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Monday, Jan. 7, 2008.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, file)
In a April 24, 2008, file photo Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer speaks at the Catholic University of Louvain in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
In a April 24, 2008, file photo Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer speaks at the Catholic University of Louvain in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.   (AP Photo)
Yahoo workers walk in front of Yahoo headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif., Wednesday, April 30, 2008.
Yahoo workers walk in front of Yahoo headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif., Wednesday, April 30, 2008.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer speaks at the Catholic University of Louvain in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, Thursday April 24, 2008.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer speaks at the Catholic University of Louvain in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, Thursday April 24, 2008.   (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer speaks at the Microsoft 2008 MVP Global Summit MVP event from Canada in Seattle in this April 17, 2008, file photo.
Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer speaks at the Microsoft 2008 MVP Global Summit MVP event from Canada in Seattle in this April 17, 2008, file photo.   (AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey, File)
This combination of two file photos shows Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, left, and Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang.
This combination of two file photos shows Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, left, and Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang.   (AP Photo)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Be the first to comment on this story.

Yang had 'unrealistic expectations': Microsoft
CNET

Yahoo-Microsoft talks boost share prices
MarketWatch

Yahoo, Google may make ad deal next week
Reuters

 
Yahoo • Microsoft • Jerry Yang • shares • Steve Ballmer • share price

More Newser Stories

Ballmer Quashes Yahoo Bid Rumors; Open to Partnership

For Yahoo, Question Is: Who's Yang's Yin?

Yang's Departure Gives Microsoft New Opening

Microsoft Aims for Yahoo's Search Ad Biz

Yahoo Still Open to Offers: Yang
NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne