I didn't own YHOO in 2000. But you're quoting a stock price from the apex of the tech bubble.
Either way.. none of that matters. Where the dow was or is doesn't matter.
What matters is shareholder equity. The ONLY job of Yahoo is to make value for its shareholders. They rejected a very fair offer from Microsoft. I don't care one way or the other of Yahoo sells to Microsoft as long as Yahoo management can lay out a clear plan for creating more value for shareholders than the Microsoft deal would've.
It looked to me, and loads of other YHOO investors (including Icahn) that they made a decision based on some silly anti-Redmond attitude.
More importantly... your post seems to betray a sense of how this world works... Shareholders don't "ask" to sell a company. In some cases a board will shop for a buyer (essentially putting a for-sale sign out) but most often that's done only if the board feels they can't protect shareholder value without finding a suitor.
It's not about some burning desire to cash-out Yahoo stock. It's about the idea of turning away a made-offer, turning away cash, a premium on what the market currently values the company. If you're going to turn away cash in hand, you better have a reason. You better have a plan. NOTHING that has happened since Yang turned-down Microsoft has suggested that they have a plan.
