As if Yahoo weren't dealing with enough. There's the Microsoft bid, the stories of Yahoo working with Google, then with Fox for a MySpace swap, all sorts of rumors gunking up the news waves, and jealousy and snideness ripping around the world, from Ali Baba to Google's own Sergy Brin.
[img src="" caption="" credit="" alt=""]Now, we've got two Detroit pension funds that are suing Yahoo and its board of directors for acting irresponsibly towards the Microsoft bid. That is--the pension funds are alleging that Yahoo's board of directors have "breached their duties to shareholders in trying to thwart a takeover by Microsoft" reports the Associated Press.
Filed in Delware Chancery Court earlier this week, the lawyers representing Detroit's police and fire retirement system and general retirement system, as well as other similarly situated public shareholders, the case being brought against Yahoo obviously wants Yahoo to quit dwiddling around, take the money, and run. 62 percent premium offers will do that to you. Every time. So what about Yahoo's negotiating tactics? Those don't seem to be good enough for the shareholders in Detroit. I can't blame them. If I lived in Detroit and worked for a public sector entity, I'd want to take the money and run, too. Run to somewhere warm and beautiful.
[img src="" caption="" credit="" alt=""]But that's beside the point. It seems it could potentially be even more debilitating to Yahoo's potential negotiations for a buyout if it's got people on its own side looking to start fights. Maybe Microsoft put the Detroit folks up to it?! Maybe (not really, though). The report goes on to say that Microsoft has hired a proxy solicitation group to essentially get rid of Yahoo's board members. Such a proxy will pretty much spur legal action in regards to resolve the issue.