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Shareholders did sue, and the threat of the lawsuit meant the board had to devote a lot of energy towards the Microsoft acquisition offer, which was unfortunate
by cbsmith 6y ago
Shareholders did sue, and the threat of the lawsuit meant the board had to devote a lot of energy towards the Microsoft acquisition offer, which was unfortunately why the offer was a win-win for Microsoft.
- chalst 6y agoI checked, and not only did they sue but they reached a settlement, in Delaware of all places, the state least friendly to these kinds of claims. But the settlement had nothing to do with Yahoo failing to reach an agreement with Microsoft; it was to weaken a poison pill Yahoo had put into place that meant employees would get expensive severances in the event of a takeover. This kind of financial measure is bread-and-butter for corporate fiduciary law, and it doesn't contradict what I said. https://www.zdnet.com/article/yahoo-settles-shareholder-suit-partially-removes-severance-roadblock/ https://www.zdnet.com/article/yahoo-settles-shareholder-suit...
- cbsmith 6y agoIn fairness, that was the legal claim that they thought had the best chance of succeeding. That option for a poison pill had been in the arsenal pretty much since the company was formed. They sued because Yahoo failed to accept the agreement.