Microsoft ... Terrible Poker Player

In no surprise to anyone, Microsoft has re-opened talks with Yahoo! just a few weeks after refusing to increase its rejected takeover offer for the company. In a piece of classic corporate gobbledegook, it said: "Microsoft is considering and has raised with Yahoo an alternative that would involve a transaction with Yahoo but not an acquisition of all of Yahoo."

This was followed by an even more oblique statement from Yahoo. The company said it will "evaluate each of our alternatives, including any Microsoft proposal, consistent with its fiduciary duties, with a focus on maximizing stockholder value". Yep, that says it all. The best quote came from Kim Caughey, a senior analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group: "Microsoft walking away from Yahoo was a total fake. Microsoft is a terrible poker player if it thought people were going to believe that the deal was dead." Stay tuned for more of nothing. Search Engine Room: May 22, 2008