After years of underperforming, the shareholders saw a chance to take a stock that was selling for under $20 not that long ago and turn it into $33 or $34 a sha

After years of underperforming, the shareholders saw a chance to take a stock that was selling for under $20 not that long ago and turn it into $33 or $34 a share. If you're scoring at home, that's a 65% or better increase in the value of their investment. And for options holders, there's a good chance that the price change is the difference between the options being underwater (i.e. worthless) and being worth quite a bit. If that were your retirement fund or your stock options in your employer, wouldn't you want that money? And if you were a professional investor, wouldn't you be downright berzerk at all that money being thrown away? Computer geeks like to go around badmouthing Microsoft all the time, but taking that attitude as a CEO or board member of a public company makes you unprofessional and irresponsible. To shareholders, Microsoft's money spends just like everyone else's. Yahoo has underperformed for years. Sure, it has long-term potential. But investors have little reason to think the current management will realize this potential any better than the last couple of regimes. Meanwhile, as much as geeks love to hate Microsoft, they have decades of experience in producing enormous profits, and there's no particular reason to think that buying Yahoo will change that. This isn't just short term vs. long term. This is realizing a return on investment vs. watching that return slip through your fingers. And investors are pissed.