Worth noting: Yahoo's share price on June 8, 1998 (date of the acquisition article) closed at $6.84. The stock closed at $35.83 just one year later on June 9, 1999. Then again, one year later, the stock closed at $72.00. The peak was $108.17 on December 31, 1999.

Ignoring how much of the deal was in cash vs. stock, if they held on for just a year or two more, their payout must have grown considerably.