Life's full of tough choices

Yahoo issued another formal statement to investor Carl Icahn, who seeks to oust Yahoo's board.

"Leaving aside Mr. Icahn's inaccurate interpretation of our retention plan, we again note that he has no credible plan to operate Yahoo!," the company stated.

Yahoo also claimed to be championing the interests of shareholders, which it often did in its refusals to Microsoft's advances.

"[Icahn's suggestion that] we put out a price publicly to see if Microsoft will alter its stated position is ill-advised. As we have stated numerous times publicly and privately, we are open to any transaction including a sale to Microsoft if it is in the best interests of shareholders," Yahoo concluded.

Yahoo raised Icahn's ire when it refused Microsoft's attempts to purchase the company, asserting the offer was too low, even after CEO Steve Ballmer raised his bid. The refusal was perceived as personal on Jerry Yang's part, drawing controversy among advertisers and stockholders alike.

Recently, a Delaware judge revealed the identity of a shareholder suing Yahoo. The lawsuit includes private correspondences that appear to confirm Yahoo was biased against the Microsoft offer.

The suit also reveals Microsoft offered Yahoo $40 a share in January of 2007, before Yang was reappointed CEO. (In its dealings with Microsoft early this year, Yahoo often stated it would not accept an offer under $37 per share.)

"Whoever's suing the Yahoo management and board of directors, if they had a $40 offer and didn't take it, they're going to want to cut their throats for being that stupid," snarled Yahoo shareholder T. Boone Pickens.

"Anybody who sued them has got a good lawsuit, I'd say. I'd hate to be on that board of directors right now."