Well, That Was $36 Million Well Spent … [Digital Daily]

$36 million. That’s what Yahoo spent in the first half of 2008 for outside counsel on Microsoft’s unsolicited takeover offer and the debacle that followed. “We incurred incremental costs of $36 million primarily for outside advisors related to Microsoft’s proposals to acquire all or a part of the Company, other strategic alternatives, the recently resolved proxy contest, and related litigation defense costs,” Yahoo disclosed in a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. $36 million. That’s quite a sum, and one that doesn’t even begin to reflect costs in employee attrition, shareholder confidence and other intangibles. $36 million to fumble a deal that would have put a greater than 62 percent premium on the share price of a floundering Internet pioneer. $36 million spent on advisory services for an... [read full story]