ANALYST VIEW: Microsoft's bid for Yahoo: Too high or too low?

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp's $44.6 billion bid to buy Yahoo Inc would, if completed, mark the biggest and boldest Internet deal since the Time-Warner AOL merger.

At $31 a share, the bid represents a 62 percent premium over Yahoo's Thursday closing price. Whether that is an appropriate price was an immediate subject of debate in financial circles.

Following are view of analysts, fund managers, and academics on whether Microsoft is offering too much for Yahoo -- or might end up raising its bid.

MICROSOFT BID IS TOO HIGH:

TRIP CHOWDHRY, ANALYST, GLOBAL EQUITIES RESEARCH

"I think Microsoft is paying too much. This company is not worth more than $20 per share and the reason I say that is... there are only two or three properties that Yahoo has that are worthwhile. The only two properties or three properties of Yahoo that are good are Yahoo Mail, Yahoo Answers and the third one is Yahoo Finance."

TIM SMALLS, HEAD OF U.S. STOCK TRADING, EXECUTION LLC

"To me, the premium seems exorbitant, for what is a dwindling business. I personally don't see how the synergies of Microsoft-Yahoo is going to take on Google."

ANANT SUNDARAM, FINANCE PROFESSOR, DARTMOUTH