The Utterances of a Peculiar Mindset

Yahoo on Monday reiterated its rejection of a takeover offer from Microsoft, again calling it too low.
The company was responding to a letter from Microsoft that threatened to lower the price of its buyout offer and take it directly to Yahoo shareholders.
Although Microsoft’s offer was initially valued at $31 a share, a drop in the price of Microsoft shares has reduced the offer to just more than $29 a share.
Yahoo's resistance to a takeover by Microsoft looks foolhardy to some investors and Wall Street analysts. But the push-back may prove effective in the end—at least by forcing the suitor to cough up a few more bucks a share.
By delaying, Yahoo increases pressure on Microsoft to hike its bid to push the deal through before regulatory conditions grow unfavorable. Resistance also buys Yahoo time to introduce a product or service that stirs investor excitement, thereby raising its share price and making the 62% premium Microsoft offered over Yahoo's Jan. 31 stock price of 19.18 look like a lowball bid.
Microsoft also needs to win global regulatory approval for the deal. Delays give opponents more time to foment antitrust opposition, particularly in China, where an Aug. 1 law gives authorities greater leeway in scrutinizing large mergers that could be deemed anticompetitive. "Yahoo seeks to gain leverage by extending the time for regulatory approval internationally, thereby putting Microsoft in a position to lose the deal altogether," says Lee Westerfield, U.S. Internet analyst at BMO Capital Markets.