Full text of the second internal email to all employees by Yahoo! CEO Jerry Yang

by seosh on 2008-02-08 09:54:38

February 7th, Beijing Time - According to foreign media reports, shortly after Microsoft made a $44.6 billion acquisition offer to Yahoo last Friday, Jerry Yang, the CEO of Yahoo, sent an internal email to all employees at 3:06 PM that day, stating that the company's management and board are evaluating the matter. The Microsoft acquisition request is only one of the candidate strategies for the company's development. On Wednesday this week, Yang sent out a second internal email to all Yahoo employees, indicating that despite the many challenges the company is facing, the management is still seeking other ways to avoid being acquired by Microsoft, and calling on Yahoo employees to "maintain stability."

Below is the full text of the second confidential internal email that Yang sent to all Yahoo employees on Wednesday:

From: Jerry Yang

Sent time: February 6th, 2008, Wednesday

Subject: Building Our Strength

Dear Yahoo Team,

Firstly, I want to thank each of you for keeping your focus on work; you have done exceptionally well in this regard. It is evident that there has been a lot of talk about Yahoo in recent days, but we have not let these rumors shake our resolve, and we continue to implement our strategic transformation strategy.

Regarding the evaluation of Microsoft's acquisition proposal by the company's board of directors, Roy (note: referring to Roy Bostock, the newly appointed non-executive chairman of Yahoo’s board) and I have exchanged opinions. The board will focus on how to maximize the value of Yahoo's vast assets and shareholder value. However, the evaluation process will take some time, and it must be done without error.

As we have already said, the board of directors has not yet made a final decision regarding Microsoft's acquisition request. The board is conducting a comprehensive assessment of a broader range of potential strategic options and analyzing the various complexities and factors involved in these options. We have hired experts for this purpose to conduct evaluations.

Reflecting on what has happened over the past few days, we feel that so many people care about Yahoo's future market development. Our users, advertisers, and publishers have expressed strong support for Yahoo and have shown their deep affection for Yahoo products and services. Through my other friends and colleagues in Silicon Valley and around the world, I deeply understand that our employees are actively contributing ideas for Yahoo's future development, to enable Yahoo to achieve greater growth and reflect shareholder value. I can assure everyone that the board will strive to achieve this goal.

Microsoft's acquisition offer to Yahoo also reflects from another angle the immense value hidden within Yahoo's brand and assets: our 500 million users worldwide, our leading products and services, our open advertising network, our technology, and most importantly, our asset—Yahoo's exceptionally smart employees.

There will definitely be more good news in the coming period, and we are all incredibly excited about it. Yesterday, we announced a partnership with digital music service provider Rhapsody and also announced the acquisition of FoxyTunes, a Firefox browser plug-in developer. Today, we launched Zimbra 5.0, the next generation of email and collaboration suites, which can be seen as a milestone event for our open platform and the beginning of our new strategy. At the Global Mobile Conference taking place next week, we will announce more exciting news, please stay tuned.

When reflecting on our achievements so far, I want all employees to know that it is your efforts that have made Yahoo successful today. During the evaluation process of Microsoft's acquisition request by the board, we will keep you updated on the latest progress. In the current situation, your dedication and commitment are more important to Yahoo than ever before.

Jerry Yang