Yahoo Investor Seeks New Microsoft Takeover Bid

Oct 10, 2008 at 9:17am ET by Greg Sterling

Mithras Capital, a small Yahoo institutional shareholder, is suggesting that Microsoft take another look at Yahoo and buy the company for $22 per share. That’s $9 less than Microsoft’s original bid for Yahoo during the takeover saga earlier this year. Yahoo shares are now trading near their 52 week low.

As of the stock market’s close yesterday Yahoo shares were trading at $12.65. Microsoft’s final bid for Yahoo was $33 per share before Redmond formally pulled its offer in May. Yahoo’s 52 week high was just over $34 per share. At the time of the original Microsoft offer in February, Yahoo shares were trading at about $19.

There has been recent speculation about a renewed push for Yahoo by Microsoft next year. That would be complicated if intensified Yahoo-AOL negotiations wind up bearing any fruit.

The worsening economy is a wild card for everyone here. Microsoft may be newly enticed to revisit acquisition talks by Yahoo’s declining share price, while Yahoo may be compelled to close a deal with AOL or, potentially, come back to the bargaining table with Microsoft if the latter puts forth a serious bid.

None of these options are entirely palatable to Yahoo I’m sure. And Microsoft has to be wary of any renewed public offer for the California company. But times have dramatically changed in the last several months and shareholders are both more nervous and less greedy than they were six months ago.

Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land, and writes a personal blog Screenwerk, examining the broader world of media and advertising. He also posts at a Local Mobile Search, which is focused on the mobile Internet.

See more articles by Greg Sterling >

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