Microsoft sees no reason to raise Yahoo bid

Microsoft Corp sees no
reason to increase its bid for Yahoo Inc, two months after it made a $44.6 bln
offer to buy the Internet company, people familiar with Microsoft’s plans said
on Monday.

“Why would Microsoft
bid against themselves? The company sees no reason to bid against itself,”
one of the people said.

The people requested
anonymity because they are not authorized to speak on behalf of the company.

A Yahoo spokeswoman
declined to comment.

Microsoft and Yahoo
executives have met once to discuss a potential merger since Microsoft made its
$31-a-share for Yahoo on January 31, other sources told Reuters earlier.

Although some technology
blogs have speculated that Microsoft is planning to raise its bid, one person
familiar with the company’s plans said Microsoft does not feel the need to pay
more because no viable strategic alternatives have emerged.

Since Microsoft’s offer,
Yahoo has held talks with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp and Time Warner Inc’s AOL
division, sources told Reuters earlier.

Microsoft also feels
comfortable biding its time because a recent roadshow by top Yahoo executives,
intended to shore up support among U.S. institutional investors and prove the
bid was too low, was “underwhelming,” one of these people said.

Yahoo rejected Microsoft’s
offer, currently valued at about $42 bln, in February, saying it
“substantially undervalues” the company.

Shares
of Yahoo closed Monday’s session down 0.2 p% at $28.93 on the Nasdaq, while
Microsoft shares closed up 1.6 p% at $28.38.