May 4, 2008 4:22 PM PDT

Jerry Yang's memo to Yahoo staff

Posted by Stephen Shankland

This is the text of the e-mail Yahoo Chief Executive Jerry Yang sent to his company's staff Saturday after Microsoft withdrew its offer to acquire the Internet pioneer.

From: jerry yang

To: [Yahoo Employees]

Sent: Sat May 03 19:26 2008

Subject: today's news

yahoos,

today microsoft announced that it has withdrawn its proposal to acquire yahoo!. from the beginning of this process, our independent board and leadership team have maintained that microsoft's offer undervalues the company, and we're pleased that many of our shareholders agreed with us. our board and leadership team now remain focused on maximizing shareholder value and pursuing strategic opportunities that position us for success and leadership in our markets.

of course, we anticipate that microsoft's announcement will draw media attention and speculation as to what happens next for yahoo!. that means the spotlight will be on us - just as it has been for the past three months. i'm incredibly proud of how we've performed under such scrutiny, with last quarter's great financial results as a testament to everyone's hard work and focus. just as we did last quarter, now is the time for us to shine and show what we're made of.

with the distraction of microsoft's unsolicited proposal behind us, we must redouble our efforts. we should focus our energies on continuing to execute the most important transition in our history. how will we do this? by executing against the strategies and priorities we already have in place, and by continuing to deliver indispensable experiences for our communities of users, advertisers, publishers and developers.

in the end, it all comes back to who we are as a company. we have a spirit and a culture that is uniquely yahoo! - and we can't forget that. staying true to who we are has helped us pull through the recent uncertainty we've faced, and will continue to be an asset as we move ahead. there's a reason why we're the only fortune 500 company with an exclamation point at the end of our name, and now is the time to demonstrate what that exclamation point stands for.

over the next several weeks, sue and i plan to visit as many offices as we can to thank you in-person for everything you've done and continue to do for yahoo!. we hope you're as excited as we are about the future that lies ahead for all of us -- together as one yahoo!.

jerry