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Saturday’s deadline passed with no deal for Microsoft and Yahoo. The two companies have been negotiating for sometime now after Microsoft expressed interest in acquiring it’s rival web portal. Now Microsoft is deciding whether to launch a hostile takeover via proxy fight or to simply drop the deal. Yahoo had no comment but Microsoft CFO Chris Liddell had this to say:

“Unless we make progress with Yahoo towards an agreement by this weekend, we will reconsider our alternatives. We will provide updates as appropriate next week, these alternatives clearly including taking an offer to the Yahoo shareholders, or to withdraw our proposal and focus on other opportunities, both organic and inorganic.”

The Wall Street Journal reported that the two companies had held talks in recent weeks but had not been able to come to an agreement by the deadline. Despite recent layoffs, Yahoo reported solid first quarter earnings and has made several product and acquisition announcements, such as the acquisition of online video player Maven Networks, the re-launch of Yahoo! Buzz, the launch of it’s new advertising platform AMP, and its decision to open its web platforms to let outside developers create apps for its vast array of sites.

From the looks of things, Yahoo is doing its best to present itself as a company that is doing just fine on its own and likes it that way, so Microsoft’s best bet may indeed be a hostile takeover, or they may be better off simply dropping their plans and moving on.

Read [Macworld]