Microsoft CEO willing to walk away from Yahoo bid

By Ian Simpson

SAN DONATO MILANESE, Italy (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is prepared to walk away from its $43.6 billion bid for Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) if the two sides can't agree on a price, Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said on Wednesday.

Speaking at a technology conference near Milan, Ballmer said Yahoo's better-than-expected first-quarter results, reported on Tuesday, have not changed Microsoft's view of Yahoo's value.

Microsoft sees Yahoo as a way to compete with arch-rival Google Inc (GOOG.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) in the Internet search and advertising arena, but it has limits to what it is willing to pay to get a deal done.

"We're prepared to move forward without a merger with Yahoo," Ballmer said. "We think the best way to move forward quickly (and gain critical mass against Google) is to come together with Yahoo."

"Hopefully that works. But if it doesn't, we go forward," he said. "Time is money. We made (that) clear in the last letter we sent."

In that letter, Ballmer set a Saturday deadline for Yahoo's board to accept a deal with Microsoft or face a lower bid that Microsoft would take directly to Yahoo's shareholders. Yahoo's board of directors has said Microsoft's cash-and-stock offer significantly undervalues the company.

Analysts downplayed the possibility of Microsoft walking away from the deal.

"It is unlikely Microsoft will walk away, as the company has a strategic imperative to establish a more significant presence in Internet advertising," Marianne Wolk, analyst with Susquehanna Financial Group, wrote in a report on Wednesday.