San Francisco: New revelations have surfaced in the Yahoo-Microsoft takeover bid, as court hearing an investors’ complaint unsealed crucial documents.

Yahoo rejected Microsoft’s takeover bid over a disagreement of share price, a move the search engine pioneer’s investors are furious over.

The papers reveal that Yahoo rejected the offer one day before Microsoft even made the official takeover bid.

"We are focused on long-term value creation rather than short-term gains," said the Yahoo document prepared for Yahoo executives ahead of a meeting a day before Microsoft made its offer.

Shareholders are holding Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang liable for failing to accept the offer, as Yahoo’s share prices fall down to $26.40.


Microsoft was willing to pay $40 a share for Yahoo in January 2007, according to the latest documents.

In the complaint filed, investors say Yang delayed the negotiations by using his power as CEO and see the directors as financially liable for rejecting the offer.

The papers also revealed Yahoo’s plans for an expensive employee severance programme that the two companies differed over.