SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp will authorize a proxy battle for
Yahoo Inc this week to convince the Web company's shareholders to agree
on a takeover deal that the Yahoo board so far has rejected, the New
York Times' DealBook blog said on Tuesday.
Quoting people briefed on the matter, the Times Web site said that
Microsoft, which has been expected to raise its cash-and-stock bid
originally worth $44.6 billion, would seek to nominate a slate of
directors by March 13, if Yahoo's board did not enter talks.
A Microsoft spokesman said the company had always maintained it
reserves the right to exercise all options but declined to comment
specifically on the DealBook report.
A person familiar with the matter told Reuters a proxy fight would
cost about $20 million to $30 million but was not aware of the company
making the decision to pursue the fight.
Chairman Bill Gates told Reuters on Monday that there was "nothing
new" in the Yahoo takeover process. "We've sent our letter and we've
reinforced that we consider that it's a very fair offer," he said.
The offer currently is worth $41.9 billion.
Microsoft shares rose 1 percent to $28.61 and Yahoo dropped about 1.5 percent to $29.22.
(Reporting by Peter Henderson, Daisuke Wakabayashi, Megan Davies; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)
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