Like many investors, we are frustrated that none of the banks that had previously back-stopped the auctions of these securities are willing to step in and redeem the issues from their clients.

We’re running ESER.org (Electronic SEcurities Registry) as a sort of public-service: sellers are free to list their Auction Rate Securities for sale; and buyers are free to browse the listings and negotiate pricing and settlement with the sellers.

We’re looking for a vibrant secondary market to emerge that will allow investors to cash-out of these illiquid Auction Rate Securities.

-ESER (Electronic SEcurities Registry)

Why doesn’t MS just take that cash and make the best finance site out there? It wouldn’t be that tough to beat.

YHOO has scheduled their Q1 earnings release for April 22 at 5:00pm ET

See here:

http://yhoo.cli...com/results.cfm

That makes MSFT’s deadline of three weeks for a deal to be concluded very intriguing.

it’s particularly interesting in that people seem to have really brought into the msoft argument that they’re doing yahoo a favor by offering to the $44 billion.

maybe it’s me showing my age (wisdom!!) but i seem to recall a day about 15 years ago when mike dell suggested that apple disolve and give the funds to the shareholders, suggesting that dell was eating apple’s lunch, and that there was no way apple would recover. fast forward, and apple reversed the table, and had a market cap surpassing dell.

businesses are fluid regarding business cycles. in my mind, msoft smells an opportunity at acquiring an asset at a discount to what it can achieve. i can easily imagine a growth rate/opportunity for yahoo that will make the current $44 Billion look under valued.

my question for those of you who are screeming that yahoo should take the deal… a few years in the future, when you look back if the deal goes trhough, will you say that yahoo screwed up and gave the company away…??

now.. to be honest, yahoo has squandered numerous opportunities to dominate the internet/portal/advertising business.. but i’m reasonably certain/convinced that appropriate management can map its way through these issues.

peace…

sam

$0.11 quarterly dividend x 4 quarters / $29.16 current stock price=.015089 which equates to 1.5089%.

I am currently down about 10% on this trade. Now once the deal gets done I can start trading in and out of that piece of money without fear of missing the announcement that the deal is done and Yahoo will be merging with Microsoft. I guess I could sell my shares and walk away with a 10% loss. But at this point I have 60 days or so into this trade and would kick myself if the deal happened right after I sold.

That is why it has been basically a dead money trade for me so far.

April 5, 2008
Board of Directors
Yahoo! Inc.
701 First Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94089

Dear Members of the Board:

It has now been more than two months since we made our proposal to acquire Yahoo! at a 62% premium to its closing price on January 31, 2008, the day prior to our announcement. Our goal in making such a generous offer was to create the basis for a speedy and ultimately friendly transaction. Despite this, the pace of the last two months has been anything but speedy.

While there has been some limited interaction between management of our two companies, there has been no meaningful negotiation to conclude an agreement. We understand that you have been meeting to consider and assess your alternatives, including alternative transactions with others in the industry, but we’ve seen no indication that you have authorized Yahoo! management to negotiate with Microsoft. This is despite the fact that our proposal is the only alternative put forward that offers your shareholders full and fair value for their shares, gives every shareholder a vote on the future of the company, and enhances choice for content creators, advertisers, and consumers.

During these two months of inactivity, the Internet has continued to march on, while the public equity markets and overall economic conditions have weakened considerably, both in general and for other Internet-focused companies in particular. At the same time, public indicators suggest that Yahoo!’s search and page view shares have declined. Finally, you have adopted new plans at the company that have made any change of control more costly.

By any fair measure, the large premium we offered in January is even more significant today. We believe that the majority of your shareholders share this assessment, even after reviewing your public disclosures relating to your future prospects.

Given these developments, we believe now is the time for our respective companies to authorize teams to sit down and negotiate a definitive agreement on a combination of our companies that will deliver superior value to our respective shareholders, creating a more efficient and competitive company that will provide greater value and service to our customers. If we have not concluded an agreement within the next three weeks, we will be compelled to take our case directly to your shareholders, including the initiation of a proxy contest to elect an alternative slate of directors for the Yahoo! board. The substantial premium reflected in our initial proposal anticipated a friendly transaction with you. If we are forced to take an offer directly to your shareholders, that action will have an undesirable impact on the value of your company from our perspective which will be reflected in the terms of our proposal.

It is unfortunate that by choosing not to enter into substantive negotiations with us, you have failed to give due consideration to a transaction that has tremendous benefits for Yahoo!’s shareholders and employees. We think it is critically important not to let this window of opportunity pass.

Sincerely,

Steven A. Ballmer
Chief Executive Office
Microsoft Corp.

uhh “unethical media manipulation”? The only thing unethical is the Yahoo board members greed in not taking this deal because it’s only a matter of time until he company slips to the point where not even MS will offer then anything remotely close to $40B.

http://www.collegemogul.com

Personally I think the deal gets done at the current offer.

How to play this? If you think the deal will get done. Buy YHOO – Yahoo all the way down until the deal is announced. Also buy more MSFT – Microsoft if it trades lower. Microsoft is cheap, even after a merger, and the Yahoo offer was originally valued at $31 a share.

Microsoft closed Friday at $29.16 (up $0.40, +1.51%, to $29.60 in after-hours trade) and Yahoo closed at $28.36 (down $0.87, -3.07%, to $27.49 in after-hours trade.

I say “Yang, get it over with. You loose!”.

I am definitely looking forward to a MicroHoo! ad platform. But please, make it a new one and not a cobbled nightmare.

I wish someone would overpay me 62% for my stock holdings.