Seattle, Feb. 3 (Reuters): Yahoo Inc said it might take “quite a bit of time” to weigh its strategic options, including keeping the company independent, following Microsoft’s $45-billion offer to buy the company.

In a weekend posting on the company’s web site, Yahoo said it was undertaking a deliberate review of Microsoft’s unsolicited offer to pay Yahoo shareholders either $31 in cash, or 0.9509 of a share of Microsoft common stock.

The review “will include evaluating all of the company’s strategic alternatives, including maintaining Yahoo as an independent company,” the posting said.

“A review process like this is fluid, and it can take quite a bit of time,” it added.

In response to a frequently asked question about whether Yahoo would seek proposals from other companies, the company said it was going to evaluate all options.