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Steve Ballmer says Microsoft Corp. is willing to go it alone rather than buy Yahoo Inc. And he has a reason besides opposition from the Internet company: skepticism among his own employees.
Since Microsoft made its bid in late January, Microsoft's chief executive and other executives have circled the ranks of Yahoo shareholders and held informal talks with Yahoo executives in the hope that friendly talks can coax Yahoo into their arms.
But the longer that process takes, the more Microsoft's rank-and-file workers and executives weigh the consequences of what would be Microsoft's largest acquisition ever, say Microsoft employees and other people familiar with the company.
Employee sentiment and other concerns about the deal may not be strong enough to force Microsoft to reconsider its goal to buy Yahoo. But Mr. Ballmer, speaking in Milan Wednesday, appeared to be hedging his bets.
He said that the $44.6 billion value of Microsoft's original bid for the company 'is a lot of money.' He added that Microsoft is 'prepared to move forward alone without Yahoo.'
A Microsoft spokesman declined to comment.
Such rhetoric, of course, is not uncommon as a negotiating tactic by a company hoping to hold the line on a deal price. But some Microsoft insiders say internal opposition to the Yahoo deal could limit the willingness of Microsoft to raise its Yahoo bid.
In Milan, Mr. Ballmer said Microsoft has no plans to boost a cash-and-stock offer for Yahoo that stood at $31 a share when announced Jan. 31. It is now valued at around $30.45 because of a subsequent fall in Microsoft's share price.
Microsoft is expected to give more direction on its Yahoo plans in coming days. Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell will have a chance to give details during the company's quarterly earnings call with analysts Thursday. Meanwhile, Saturday is a deadline Microsoft imposed on Yahoo on April 5 to enter friendly talks or face a hostile takeover. The two sides have talked, though haven't had any formal negotiations around price, say people familiar with the matter. Yahoo says Microsoft's offer undervalues it and some major Yahoo shareholders have suggested they want closer to $35 a share to do a deal.
Meanwhile, Microsoft has assembled a proxy slate of candidates to nominate to Yahoo's board in the event it pursues a hostile bid. The list has 10 nominees and three alternates, says a person familiar with the matter. The nominees include former Nextel Partners Inc. CEO John Chapple, former Grey Global Group Inc. CEO Edward Meyer, Jaynie Studenmund, the former chief operating officer of Overture Services Inc., which was later acquired by Yahoo, and former Adelphia Communications Corp. Chief Financial Officer Vanessa Wittman, according to people familiar with the matter. Ms. Studenmund declined to comment. Mr. Meyer, Ms. Wittman and Mr. Chapple didn't return requests for comment.
Inside Microsoft, unrest over the Yahoo deal is focused in two areas: people in Microsoft's online services group worried about their future and people in other Microsoft divisions who believe the task of absorbing Yahoo will divert top management's attention and other resources away from other pressing challenges, say the people familiar with the matter.
Concern about Yahoo is also fueling what some Microsoft employees say is high attrition in the company's online services group, in particular the teams who sell online advertisements.
Mr. Ballmer and other proponents of the deal have done little to communicate their thinking on the deal internally after an initial wave of statements, say people familiar with the company.
微软(Microsoft Corp.)首席执行长巴尔默(Steve Ballmer)已流露出放弃收购雅虎公司(Yahoo! Inc.)而独自打拼的意向。除了来自雅虎的反对，巴尔默产生这种想法还有一个原因，那便是他自己员工的怀疑态度。
自微软1月底提出收购后，巴尔默及微软其他高管就一直在游说雅虎众多股东，并与雅虎管理层进行了非正式的谈判，寄希望于通过友好的会谈说动雅虎。
微软首席执行长巴尔默但微软员工及其他知情人士称，这个过程耗时越长，微软的普通员工和主管对后果就想得越多，要知道这可是微软有史以来最大规模的收购。
员工的情绪和其他对这桩交易的疑虑可能还不足以迫使微软重新审视其收购雅虎的目标。但巴尔默周三在米兰讲话时，态度似乎变得模棱两可。
他说，微软最初给雅虎的446亿美元报价已经是一大笔钱。他还说，微软已经“作好放弃雅虎单干的准备”。
微软发言人拒绝置评。
当然，作为坚持己方报价的一种谈判技巧，这种辞令在收购交易中屡见不鲜。但微软的一些内部人士表示，公司内部对交易的反对意见可能会限制微软提高出价的意愿。
巴尔默在意大利米兰表示，微软无意增加对雅虎的出价。1月31日微软宣布以现金加股票的方式收购雅虎，在当时相当于每股31美元。由于微软股价随后有所下跌，目前的收购价相当于每股30.45美元左右。
预计未来几天微软还将进一步说明其对雅虎的计划。在周四召开的分析师季度讨论会上，将有机会听到微软首席财务长克里斯•里德尔(Chris Liddell)的详细说明。此外，周六是微软给雅虎的最后期限：进行友好谈判，还是面对敌意收购。据知情人士称，双方已有过对话，但没有就价格进行任何正式谈判。雅虎称微软的报价低估了其价值，前者的一些大股东也表示，他们希望交易价格能接近每股35美元。
与此同时，微软已拟好一份准备提名进入雅虎董事会的候选代理人名单，以备一旦发起敌意收购之用。知情人士称，这份名单上有10位候选代理人，还有3名后备人选。这些人选包括Nextel Partners Inc.前首席执行长约翰•查派尔(John Chapple)、Grey Global Group Inc.前首席执行长爱德华•梅耶(Edward Meyer)、Overture Services Inc.（后被雅虎收购）前首席执行长乔尼尔•施图德蒙德(Jaynie Studenmund)、以及Adelphia Communications Corp.前首席财务长瓦内萨•威特曼(Vanessa Wittman)等人。施图德蒙德拒绝置评，梅耶、威特曼和查派尔没有回应记者的置评要求。
知情人士称，微软内部对这桩交易的不满主要集中在两方面。其一是微软在线服务部门的人员担心自己的前程；其二是其他部门的人担心吞并雅虎会分散高层对其他紧迫事务的关注以及所分配到的资源。
照微软员工所称，对雅虎交易的顾虑还加剧了微软部分在线服务部门的人员损耗，尤其是在线广告销售部门。
知情人士称，在最开始发表了一轮收购雅虎的声明后，巴尔默和其他支持这桩交易的人很少与内部员工交流看法。
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