So much for Yahoo! being desperate to accept Microsoft’s friendly bid. Reports are now coming out that Microsoft will have to increase its bid to make the Yahoo board accept a deal with Microsoft. I am sure somewhere in Redmond Steve is furious with Yahoo! and is planning to move ahead with plan B. So what is plan B for Microsoft? Bypassing the board and going to shareholders. Microsoft is banking on the fact that investors are not satisfied with Yahoo’s performance. It’s true that many Yahoo! investors are almost ready to cash out and cut their losses, but Yahoo’s shares have gained some value after Microsoft’s bid, and Microsoft won’t be able to get Yahoo! for cheap. I do believe that a deal with go through, though not as early as we all think, but for Microsoft to come out of all this empty-handed is simply unthinkable.