7 ms·

Dear Yahoo! You're Fired!

42 points by statikpulse 18y ago

henning 18y ago
I wish gossip whores like Arrington wrote the way angry corporate raiders (or their secretaries, maybe) do.
- kyro 18y ago
  I understand that you have issues with TC and Arrington, but I'd think this post would least compel to point something like that out. He merely posted a letter that I happened to find interesting. Save those lines for the moments when they are really necessary.
jimbokun 18y ago
Mark Cuban looks like the only guy on the proposed slate of directors with any direct experience running a web/software business.
- mattmaroon 18y ago
  Hilariously, his company long ago was sold to Yahoo, and he promptly ditched his shares. He didn't want anything to do with it then.
- gojomo 18y ago
  I think the idea here is to sell it, not run it. So the main qualification of the new board would be: can phone MSFT and ask them to again offer $33/share.
  - Xichekolas 18y ago
    Can I be on the board then? I'm sure they'll all get a sweet payoff from the deal.
  - jmzachary 18y ago
    No way MSFT offers $33+/share again. Yahoo's pride/arrogance/stupidity cost their shareholders a lot of money.
prakash 18y ago
Interesting to see that Mark Cuban is in the board nambed by Ichan.
- jfornear 18y ago
  I thought the same thing. I love it.
edw519 18y ago
"completely botched"? Can you be a little less technical please?
Xichekolas 18y ago
And now we have all learned to never piss off Carl Icahn... the dude swings with a big bat: > "I have therefore taken the following actions: (1) during the last 10 days, I have purchased approximately 59 million shares and share-equivalents of Yahoo; (2) I have formed a 10-person slate which will stand for election against the current board; and (3) I have sought antitrust clearance from the Federal Trade Commission to acquire up to approximately $2.5 billion worth of Yahoo stock." Which translates to: "Oh by the way, I bought 59 million shares last week, and I feel like buying $2.5 billion more just so I can fire you and sell your company to Microsoft." Amusing to say the least.
- thaumaturgy 18y ago
  Incredibly amusing ... and a powerful lesson that reinforces my decision not to let other people get involved in control of my company. Yahoo's actions weren't in the best interest of its shareholders, but I think they were in the best interest of its user base. How disappointing that the shareholders care so little for Yahoo's users, or its identity as a company.
coglethorpe 18y ago
> The server at www.techcrunch.com is taking too long to respond. Perhaps it's TechCrunch that should be fired. The site responds less often that Twitter.
deleted 18y ago
[deleted]
sabat 18y ago
It's obvious that the MS offer of $33/share is superior to Yahoo's "standalone" prospects? Really? Long-term, who do you think is on the decline and who isn't? Between the two, I'd bet Yahoo over MS.
- emmett 18y ago
  You're basically saying you think the stocks are mispriced significantly. If that's true, there's a huge opportunity to buy Y! and sell MS, and you'll make a killing. Why aren't you taking it?
brentr 18y ago
Icahn is not infallible when it comes to internet companies. While Time Warner is not 100% tech, it should be noted that his proxy war never came to fruition.
deleted 18y ago
[deleted]
sharksandwich 18y ago
It seems to me like if something like this were to succeed - Icahn forcing the current board out and replacing it with a group whose primary qualification seems to be that they'd approve a sale - Yahoo would lose a lot of leverage to negotiate a favorable price for its shareholders. Does anyone know how that's dealt with? Would he already have agreed to terms with MS before initiating this?
- immad 18y ago
  It will still be the boards responsibility to get the best deal for the shareholders. It is also unlikely that MS could go down from their $33/share bid that they already committed to. But I do see your point.
- jmzachary 18y ago
  Yahoo lost a lot of leverage when they flipped the bird at Microsoft. A $33/share offer was gold and they left a lot of money on the table. Yahoo is in a really tight corner now with pissed off shareholders. I wonder how likely a merger with Google is at this point of if that would make any sense for Google.
Antiglobalism 18y ago
I believe John C Dvorak had this right: MS lacks direction. They should stop becoming Web 2.0 masters and instead focus on releasing a simple, effective, high-quality OS (which they've failed with since W2K/XP imo).

42 points by statikpulse 18y ago

henning 18y ago

I wish gossip whores like Arrington wrote the way angry corporate raiders (or their secretaries, maybe) do.

kyro 18y ago
I understand that you have issues with TC and Arrington, but I'd think this post would least compel to point something like that out. He merely posted a letter that I happened to find interesting. Save those lines for the moments when they are really necessary.

jimbokun 18y ago

Mark Cuban looks like the only guy on the proposed slate of directors with any direct experience running a web/software business.

mattmaroon 18y ago
Hilariously, his company long ago was sold to Yahoo, and he promptly ditched his shares. He didn't want anything to do with it then.
gojomo 18y ago
I think the idea here is to sell it, not run it. So the main qualification of the new board would be: can phone MSFT and ask them to again offer $33/share.
- Xichekolas 18y ago
  Can I be on the board then? I'm sure they'll all get a sweet payoff from the deal.
- jmzachary 18y ago
  No way MSFT offers $33+/share again. Yahoo's pride/arrogance/stupidity cost their shareholders a lot of money.

prakash 18y ago

Interesting to see that Mark Cuban is in the board nambed by Ichan.

jfornear 18y ago
I thought the same thing. I love it.

edw519 18y ago

"completely botched"? Can you be a little less technical please?

Xichekolas 18y ago

And now we have all learned to never piss off Carl Icahn... the dude swings with a big bat: > "I have therefore taken the following actions: (1) during the last 10 days, I have purchased approximately 59 million shares and share-equivalents of Yahoo; (2) I have formed a 10-person slate which will stand for election against the current board; and (3) I have sought antitrust clearance from the Federal Trade Commission to acquire up to approximately $2.5 billion worth of Yahoo stock." Which translates to: "Oh by the way, I bought 59 million shares last week, and I feel like buying $2.5 billion more just so I can fire you and sell your company to Microsoft." Amusing to say the least.

thaumaturgy 18y ago
Incredibly amusing ... and a powerful lesson that reinforces my decision not to let other people get involved in control of my company. Yahoo's actions weren't in the best interest of its shareholders, but I think they were in the best interest of its user base. How disappointing that the shareholders care so little for Yahoo's users, or its identity as a company.

coglethorpe 18y ago

> The server at www.techcrunch.com is taking too long to respond. Perhaps it's TechCrunch that should be fired. The site responds less often that Twitter.

deleted 18y ago

[deleted]

sabat 18y ago

It's obvious that the MS offer of $33/share is superior to Yahoo's "standalone" prospects? Really? Long-term, who do you think is on the decline and who isn't? Between the two, I'd bet Yahoo over MS.

emmett 18y ago
You're basically saying you think the stocks are mispriced significantly. If that's true, there's a huge opportunity to buy Y! and sell MS, and you'll make a killing. Why aren't you taking it?

brentr 18y ago

Icahn is not infallible when it comes to internet companies. While Time Warner is not 100% tech, it should be noted that his proxy war never came to fruition.

deleted 18y ago

[deleted]

sharksandwich 18y ago

It seems to me like if something like this were to succeed - Icahn forcing the current board out and replacing it with a group whose primary qualification seems to be that they'd approve a sale - Yahoo would lose a lot of leverage to negotiate a favorable price for its shareholders. Does anyone know how that's dealt with? Would he already have agreed to terms with MS before initiating this?

immad 18y ago
It will still be the boards responsibility to get the best deal for the shareholders. It is also unlikely that MS could go down from their $33/share bid that they already committed to. But I do see your point.
jmzachary 18y ago
Yahoo lost a lot of leverage when they flipped the bird at Microsoft. A $33/share offer was gold and they left a lot of money on the table. Yahoo is in a really tight corner now with pissed off shareholders. I wonder how likely a merger with Google is at this point of if that would make any sense for Google.

Antiglobalism 18y ago

I believe John C Dvorak had this right: MS lacks direction. They should stop becoming Web 2.0 masters and instead focus on releasing a simple, effective, high-quality OS (which they've failed with since W2K/XP imo).