Microsoft - Yahoo    

·         On April 7, 2008 Yahoo  reiterated its rejection of a takeover offer from Microsoft, again calling it too low.

·         The company was responding to a letter from Microsoft that threatened to lower the price of its buyout offer and take it directly to Yahoo shareholders.

·        Although Microsoft’s offer was initially valued at $31 a share, a drop in the price of Microsoft shares has reduced the offer to just more than $29 a share.

On April 6, 2008 Computer software giant Microsoft gave Yahoo a three-week deadline to respond to its offer to buy out the internet company for $44.6bn (£22.3bn).

·         Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said his company would take its case directly to Yahoo's shareholders if Yahoo's directors did not respond by 26 April.

·         Microsoft made an unsolicited bid on 31 January, but Yahoo's board rejected it as substantially underrating its value. Yahoo has since explored alliances with other firms, but no offer has surfaced.

·         Ballmer said his company's offer - 62% above Yahoo's market value at the time - had grown stronger as time had passed.

·         In Feb 2008, Yahoo estimated it would almost double its operating cash flow over the next three years and generate $8.8bn in revenue after costs in 2010.