“Our position hasnit changed,” the company said in a statement. “Microsoft has no interest in acquiring Yahoo!; there are no discussions between the companies.”
The public statement followed comments from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at the Gartner Symposium ITxpo in Orlando. According to ZDNet, when asked about his companyis interest in pursuing Yahoo! again, Mr. Ballmer replied “We offered $33 bucks and itis $11 today. Itis clear Yahoo didnit want to sell. They probably still think itis worth more than $33 a share. I still think it makes sense for their shareholders and ours.”
Microsoft launched a US$44.6 billion Yahoo! takeover attempt in February in an effort to bolster its position against Google in the Internet search advertising market. The very public battle between the Redmond-based company and Yahoo!is board eventually led to a proxy battle for a hostile takeover attempt before negotiations crumbled and Microsoft walked away from the table.
Mr. Ballmer left Yahoo! with a parting shot at the time. “By failing to reach an agreement with us, you and your stockholders have left significant value on the table,” he said.
While Mr. Ballmeris comments this week seem to leave the door open for future attempts to buy up Yahoo!, the companyis stance seems to be clear: There isnit any interest in acquiring Yahoo!.