Behind every billionaire there is a story!

Microsoft Makes $44.6 Billion Bid for Yahoo

Microsoft said Friday that it would offer $44.6 billion for Yahoo, the ailing search giant. The surprise offer of $31 a share represents a 62 percent premium to Thursday’s clsoing share price. Yahoo shareholders could elect to receive either cash or stock.

The proposed acquisition, the largest ever by Microsoft, would give some relief to Yahoo’s long-suffering shareholders, who have seen the company’s stock slide nearly 32 percent this year. It would also create the most formidable competitor yet for Google, the search engine giant.

“This proposal represents a compelling value realization event for your shareholders,” Steven A. Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive, said in a letter to Yahoo’s board sent Thursday.

read the rest published by DealBook here:

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/01/microsoft-makes-446-billion-for-yahoo/#more-20662