CNBC Press Releases

KNEALE: AND THE WAY THAT THIS WORK IT'S.

HERERA: IF I CAN ASK -- FOLLOW WITH ONE QUESTION, DENNIS, AND I'M SORRY. SUE, ONE OF THE ISSUES EYE MEAN YOU CAME FROM WALL STREET. I FIRST MET YOU WHEN YOU WERE WORKING ON WALL STREET AND YOU KNOW HOW THE STREET WORKS, OBVIOUSLY, PROBABLY BETTER THAN ANY OTHER PRESIDENT THAT'S IN THE OFFICE. WE PUT TOGETHER A TIME LINE AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE THE MICROSOFT BID DURING THE MICROSOFT BID AND POST THE BREAKDOWN IN THOSE TALKS, REGARDLESS OF WHAT TYPE OF TALKS YOU'RE HAVING NOW, THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT LOSS IN THE STOCK. AND THERE ARE THOSE ON THE STREET WHO ARE SAYING, IF YOU DON'T DO A DEAL WITH MICROSOFT, YOU KNOW YOU'RE DOING SHAREHOLDERS A DISSERVICE. THE STREET REACTED TO THE IDEA OF THE MICROSOFT BID BY RUNNING SHARES UP CONSIDERABLY. AND IT HAS LOST CONSIDERABLE STRENGTH SINCE THEN. DON'T YOU HAVE TO DO DID A DEAL, IF NOT WITH MICROSOFT, WITH SOMEBODY?

DECKER: YOU KNOW THE GOAL HERE OF THE COMPANY OF OUR BOARD IS TO MAXIMIZE SHAREHOLDER VALUE AND OF COURSE WHEN THERE'S --

HERERA: BUT ISN'T THAT WHAT A DEAL WOULD DO? THAT'S WHAT THE STREET IS INDICATING.

DECKER: ABSOLUTELY. AND AS WE'VE SAID BEFORE, MICROSOFT WALKED AWAY FROM THE DEAL. THERE WAS A DISCUSSION ABOUT WHAT VALUE WAS ACHIEVABLE AND OTHER TERMS THAT WERE NEVER REALLY DISCUSSED IN TERMS OF CERTAINTY OF VALUE AND REGULATORY CERTAINTY UPON CLOSE AND WE NEVER GOT TO THOSE BECAUSE THERE WAS A DISCONNECT BETWEEN WHAT THE COMPANY'S WORTH AND FROM OUR BOARD'S PERSPECTIVE AND WHAT MICROSOFT IS WILLING TO PAY.

HERERA: I IF IT DOESN'T WORK OUT WITH MICROSOFT REGARDLESS OF WHAT TYPES OF TALKS YOU'RE HAVING NOW DOESN'T THAT SHARE PRICE PERFORMANCE MEAN THAT YOU HAVE TO DO A DEAL WITH SOMEONE ELSE THEN?

DECKER: OUR BOARD REMAINS ABSOLUTELY OPEN TO ANY CONVERSATION WITH ANY COMPANY WOULD THAT MAXIMIZE SHAREHOLDER VALUE.

KNEALE: HEY, SUE, JUST ONE MORE THING ON THE SEVERANCE AGREEMENT THING. SO THAT BABY'S IN PLACE NO MATTER WHAT? A CONTROL, EVEN A I FRIENDLY CHANGE OF CONTROL, THOSE EXPENSES KICK, AND THAT 470 TO TWO BILLION DOLLAR HAPPENS IS THAT RIGHT?

DECKER: THE WAY THAT THE SEVERANCE AGREEMENT WORKS IS IT RETAINS EMPLOYEES THROUGH A CLOSURE OF AGREEMENT. SO THE EXPENSES ONLY KICK IN POST THE CLOSURE OF THE AGREEMENT. AND AS MICROSOFT SAID PUBLICLY THEY WERE WILLING TO PAY QUITE A LOT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE EMPLOYEES STAY WITH THE COMPANY.

KNEALE: OKAY. THANKS SO MUCH. WE APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE.

HERERA: YOU'RE A GOOD SPORT.

DECKER: THANK YOU.

HERERA: THANKS A LOT.

About CNBC:
CNBC is the recognized world leader in business news, providing real-time financial market coverage and business information to more than 340 million homes worldwide, including more than 95 million households in the United States and Canada. The network's Business Day programming (weekdays from 5:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. ET) is produced at CNBC's headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., and also includes reports from CNBC news bureaus worldwide. Additionally, CNBC viewers can manage their individual investment portfolios and gain additional in-depth information from on-air reports by accessing http://www.cnbc.com.

Members of the media can receive more information about CNBC and its programming on the NBC Universal Media Village Web site at http://nbcumv.com/cnbc/.

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