Internet giant Yahoo's board has decided to reject Microsoft's take-over bid, saying its 44.6 billion dollar offer "massively undervalues" Yahoo, the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.
Citing an unnamed source familiar with the situation, the Journal said Yahoo's board also believes the Microsoft offer, at 31 dollars per share, does not account for risks facing Yahoo if it pursues a deal that might be ultimately blocked by government regulators.
"Yahoo's board believes that Microsoft's is trying to take advantage of the recent weakness in the company's share price to 'steal' the company," the newspaper said on its website.
"Yahoo's board appears to be betting that Microsoft doesn't want to 'go hostile' and try to acquire the company against the wishes of management and the board," it said. A person familiar with the situation Saturday confirmed to AFP that the Journal report was generally in line with the Yahoo board's intentions. "Reports today lacked some facts, but they are not totally off mark," the person said, requesting anonymity.