Microsoft Responds To Rejection: Will Take “All Necessary Steps” To Consummate “Full & Fair” Proposal

Yahoo may have said
no to being acquired by Microsoft, but Microsoft isn’t having it. The
company has put out a
statement
saying the rejection was "unfortunate" and pledging to "pursue all necessary
steps" to get what it called its "full and fair" proposal to be accepted.

The wording suggests that Microsoft will not up its offer as some have
expected. It also suggests in talking about "stakeholders" and "shareholders" that the company will undertake a sustained effort to have shareholders put pressure on Yahoo’s board.

Below, the full statement (not yet on Microsoft’s site itself but instead via
PRNewswire, ironically at Yahoo):

It is unfortunate that Yahoo! has not embraced our full and fair proposal
to combine our companies. Based on conversations with stakeholders of both
companies, we are confident that moving forward promptly to consummate a
transaction is in the best interests of all parties.

We are offering shareholders superior value and the opportunity to
participate in the upside of the combined company. The combination also offers
an increasingly exciting set of solutions for consumers, publishers and
advertisers while becoming better positioned to compete in the online services
market.

A Microsoft-Yahoo! combination will create a more effective company that
would provide greater value and service to our customers. Furthermore, the
combination will create a more competitive marketplace by establishing a
compelling number two competitor for Internet search and online advertising.

The Yahoo! response does not change our belief in the strategic and
financial merits of our proposal. As we have said previously, Microsoft
reserves the right to pursue all necessary steps to ensure that Yahoo!’s
shareholders are provided with the opportunity to realize the value inherent
in our proposal.

For related stories from us, see:

• Microhoo: Divining
  The Probabilities
• Official: Yahoo
  Says No To Microsoft

And from across the web:

• 
  Group offers to sell Yahoo shares to Microsoft, International Herald
  Tribune
• 
  Microsoft-Yahoo: The Lawyer’s Edition!, Wall Street Journal
• Mehdi’s
  Argument: You Need Micro-Hoo, Ad Age
• 
  Yahoo Rejects Microsoft Bid, Leaves Room for Further Talks, Wall Street
  Journal
• 
  Sorry, But $31 Does Not "Massively Undervalue" Yahoo, Silicon Alley
  Insider
• 
  Yahoo’s "AOL Talks"–More Smart Smoke From Yahoo’s Advisors, Silicon Alley
  Insider
• 
  Congress delays first hearing on Microsoft’s Yahoo bid, San Jose Mercury
  News

Also see Techmeme for related
discussion on Microsoft’s rejection of Yahoo’s rejection and
our
Microhoo category for even more background.