Microsoft’s Directors Could Authorize a Higher Price for Yahoo, The Times Suggests

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace) -- After they met on Wednesday, reports say that the Directors at Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) could be planning to instruct the company’s negotiating team to increase its buyout bid for Yahoo Inc (NASDAQ:YHOO).

The New York Times, citing an unnamed source, reported on Thursday the range of decisions facing the software behemoth’s board:

"The board was expected to consider a range of options, including Microsoft raising its offer in an attempt to break the stalemate between the companies," The Times article said.

"In recent days, Microsoft has considered increasing the bid, currently valued at $29.06 a share, to $32 or $33," the report added.

The article also said that Microsoft could back out of its bid altogether, which would cause Yahoo’s share price to plunge.

This maneuver would leave Microsoft with the option of making another buyout bid sometime in the future, which would presumably be under more auspicious circumstances for the Redmond giant.

Whatever the strategies under consideration, there can be little doubt that the company’s Directors are playing a key role as this drama unfolds before a worldwide audience of business-news watchers.

NewsVisual created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map that illustrates the business connections among Microsoft’s Directors in order to determine whether they are prepared to meet the company’s challenges.

The Knowledge Map shows that Microsoft’s board is extremely diverse in terms of the number of different industries represented.

For example, besides the software and computer industries, Microsoft Directors have experience in several other industries: Director Dina Dublon is the former CFO of JPMorgan Chase; Director Raymond Martin is the former Chairman/President/CEO Merck & Co; Director Reed Martin is the Founder/Chairman/CEO of Netflix; and Director Charles Noski is the former Vice-Chairman AT&T Corp.

Click here for an interactive version of this IntellectSpace Knowledge Map.

(Note: the information contained and presented in Knowledge Maps is public information from the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America).