WebProNews

Steve Ballmer and company published a letter to their counterparts at Yahoo, which was urged not to let this window of opportunity pass.

Redmond's Microsoft HQ kept the lights burning this weekend, as CEO Ballmer appended his signature to a little missive destined for Yahoo's board. Patience has worn down at Microsoft regarding their takeover bid, as evidenced by their letter to Sunnyvale, helpfully published for public consumption.

The critical bit comes in the fifth paragraph:

If we have not concluded an agreement within the next three weeks, we will be compelled to take our case directly to your shareholders, including the initiation of a proxy contest to elect an alternative slate of directors for the Yahoo! board.

The substantial premium reflected in our initial proposal anticipated a friendly transaction with you. If we are forced to take an offer directly to your shareholders, that action will have an undesirable impact on the value of your company from our perspective which will be reflected in the terms of our proposal.

Ballmer noted a handful of factors supporting his position:

During these two months of inactivity, the Internet has continued to march on, while the public equity markets and overall economic conditions have weakened considerably, both in general and for other Internet-focused companies in particular.

At the same time, public indicators suggest that Yahoo!’s search and page view shares have declined. Finally, you have adopted new plans at the company that have made any change of control more costly.

Someone will have to bear the brunt of that additional cost, should things get messy. We'll hazard a guess it won't be Ballmer. The staredown between Microsoft and Yahoo as we cited yesterday just reached the hands hovering over holsters bit.

Yes, high noon has come to the Microsoft acquisition of Yahoo. Saddle up.