Yahoo is struggling to find shareholder-pleasing alternatives to Microsoft's buyout bid, reports the Wall Street Journal. Selling Yahoo Japan is one possibility. An outsourcing deal with Google for its search ads that could boost revenue 25% is another, yet would raise regulatory issues. And shareholders would need to be convinced any moves outweighed Microsoft’s $31-per-share offer, a 62% premium on recent prices.
Microsoft may even be willing to up its price. Still, in an email to employees today, Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang stressed that no decision on the offer had been made. Meanwhile, Silicon Alley Insider's Henry Blodget suggests the "White Knight" that might save Yahoo from Microsoft is Microsoft's own shareholders: their distaste for the deal has pushed the company's stock down, changing the value of the half cash/half stock bid for Yahoo. (More Microsoft stories.)