Jerry Yang, chief executive of struggling search engine provider Yahoo!, has sent out a letter to the company's shareholders arguing against a takeover by Microsoft.In the letter, Yang states that Yahoo!'s current management strategy will create value, whereas the bid put forward by Microsoft undervalues the firm and is not in the best interests of shareholders.
He says: "[Yahoo! has] taken significant but disciplined steps to refocus our business on our objectives to become the starting point for the most consumers and the must buy for the most advertisers."
Mr Yang goes on to state: "[Yahoo!'s] assets - our brand and its audience, our relationships with marketers, our financial strength, our technology and our strategic investments - are the core of our value and our leadership position in the industry."
According to Yang, Yahoo! is now better organised and "more nimble" than it was a few months ago, having "redeployed" its resources to push forward its key strategic priorities.
He adds that the search engine provider is "well on [its] way" to transforming the experiences of its publishers, developers, advertisers and users, something Yang says is "at the heart" of Yahoo!'s plan to create value for shareholders.
The letter comes after leading stockholder Legg Mason spoke out in favour of accepting a Microsoft bid if the company raises its offer.
