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Irvine-based software maker Epicor has spurned a buyout offer from Elliott Associates LP, saying that the $9.50 per share offer for the firm was "not in the best interests of Epicor and its stockholders." The rejection--the second announced by Epicor's board--came after Elliott Associates said it would approach shareholders directly with the deal. Among reasons for the rejection named by Epicor were the number of conditions in the offer, timing of the offer, the firm's current stock price and its drop related to overall market conditions, as well as the earnings multiple on the transaction. Epicor said it was recommending to its stockholders to reject the offer.No tag for this post.

AP - The top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee is joining a chorus of lawmakers urging the Justice Department to scrutinize the planned Internet advertising partnership between Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc.No tag for this post.

Los Angeles-based Yammer, the corporate focused instant messaging service spun out of Geni.com, said today that the firm is updating its service and adding a new groups feature. According to Yammer, its new Groups feature allows messages and members on the site to be managed around specific groups within companies. The new feature allows companies using the firm's service to subdivide members into specific groups, rather than to an entire company. Yammer launched to much fanfare in September at TechCrunch50, taking the instant messaging features of Twitter and adding a corporate spin. Yammer said the new Groups feature and related changes will go live on Wednesday. The firm is headed by former PayPal executive David Sacks, who is also CEO of Geni.com. READ MORE>>No tag for this post.