TECHCRUNCH
ERICK SCHONFELD
30 APRIL 08
Microsoft does not like to be rushed. Everyone is waiting for its next move, now that the deadline it set for Yahoo to accept its takeover bid expired last Saturday. And everyone can keep waiting. Nevertheless, preparations are being made for an announcement this week from Microsoft on what it will do next.
Out of its various options, the two most likely are either to go hostile with the bid or to walk away. Chief financial officer Chris Liddell signaled as much during last weeks’ earnings conference call, where he also discounted the possibility of a higher bid:
The strongest argument that we should increase our bid because we can afford to is not one I favor. We have yet to see tangible evidence that our bid substantially undervalues the company. In fact we see the opposite.