"We believe we have made a very fair offer to Yahoo. Now it is up to the Yahoo board to decide."

Microsoft's Kevin Turner made the above statement to reporters at a news conference in Mumbai.  The conference was intended to focus on the launch of strategic initiatives with India's HCL Infosystems, but the topic of discussion predictably shifted back to the ongoing Microsoft and Yahoo drama.

"The bid is a tactic and a strategy towards becoming a world class digital advertising company. With or without the acquisition we are committed to becoming a world class digital advertising company," continued Turner.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer recently announced that if Yahoo did not accept its offer within three weeks it would attempt to wrest control of the company from the board with a proxy battle and might lower its offered price of $42.4B USD.  Yahoo's refusal and demands for more money indicate clearly that it may be headed for a showdown with Microsoft.

Further complicating matters is Yahoo's new ad deal with Google and its possible merger with AOL.  Of course the merger would have to be approved by Yahoo's board, so if Microsoft deposes the board, it might still have its way with the company.

Turner would not comment on reports from the The New York Times that Microsoft was considering a new higher co-bid with New Corp., Rupert Murdoch's media giant, which owns Myspace.com.

Yahoo and AOL have both been criticized as floundering businesses and analysts are skeptical a merger of the two sinking boats would produce anything but a larger sinking ship.  On the other hand, many observers also have been rather scathing when asking why Microsoft has thus far, with all its resources, been unable to produce quality online offerings, or a strong search platform. 

Many analysts think that adding the struggling Yahoo may help, with market share if nothing else, but some remain skeptical of the long term benefits of a merger.