Yes, it is a very normal negotiation process. MSFT had an offer price, now it is the time for YHOO to give an ASK price, very common business practice, I've seen this kind of cases many times.
I think Yahoo is just playing hard to get. Tbh they took several nose dives in the last couple of years, except for their directory, they really aren't topping anything no more. Why they're showing Microsoft one buttcheek but not letting them go in is just plain rude and cocky of them IMO.
I think shorting Yahoo is a very bad Idea, Microsoft is going to come in with a higher big maybe $35, and by shorting the stock your screwed since it will jump in price again.
I think that Monday i will buy call option MSFT for 3 months. Any advice from somebody who is trading options,please?
It will be somewhere in between $30 and $40 BUT with a contigent clause, or $40 without it, i.e. if the buyout is not approved by the government, MSFT have to pay Yahoo $5 billion for the damage.
You could try to buy straddle. Lock in both ways - $10 up or down, but the cost is only $2 one way for July $30 calls and puts, this is risk-free if the deals closes in 3 months. http://quote.yahoo.com/q/op?s=YHOO&k=30.000000
But thats Yahoo. I want to buy Microsoft, i think their stock will jump within 3 months considering the low price that they have now. What do you think?
Not really on MSFT. YHOO's P/E ratio is not low. YHOO's earnings have not been that good either. Adds YHOO really not improve MSFT financial statements much in the short-term, could hurt with $40 billion cash outlay or share dilution.
They hoped to close the deal in 6 months but I suspect it will take longer since the government may look into this deal
Maybe google will now focus on search rather then building space ships, and working on renewable energy projects.