PENSION FUNDS SUE YAHOO FOR TURNING DOWN MICROSOFT OFFER

Two pension funds have sued Yahoo and its Board of Directors claiming that they neglected their financial duty to shareholders in an attempt to avoid being taken over by Microsoft.

From USA Today:

The lawsuit was filed in Delaware Chancery Court on Thursday by lawyers representing Detroit's police and fire retirement system and general retirement system, as well as "all other similarly situated public shareholders."

According to the lawsuit, Yahoo's board is pursuing "value-destructive" third-party deals in an effort to fight off Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft, which on Feb. 1 announced a takeover bid of $31 per share in cash and stock, a 62% premium over Yahoo's previous day's closing price.

"Yahoo's directors cannot 'just say no' indefinitely to legitimate acquisition offers," the lawsuit reads. "Likewise, Yahoo's directors cannot pursue transactions that do not require shareholder approval for the primary purpose of making Yahoo unattractive to Microsoft."