The deal reached last month by troubled handset maker Palm Inc. to sell a 25% stake to private equity firm Elevation Partners for $325 million was widely viewed as a compromise by a company that could not find an outright buyer. Palm confirms as much in a recent regulatory filing.

According to Barron's, multiple partners, including Elevation, considered but rejected the idea of buying Palm between January and April. On Jan. 22, the company states in its filing, Elevation made a preliminary offer to buy 100% of the company's outstanding shares for cash. On March 26 the investment firm and a buyout shop jointly offered to acquire the whole company for $19 to $20 per share. Days later, however, Elevation told Palm that its partner was no longer interested in the deal.

Judging by Palm's recent stock activity, maybe those skittish buyers were right. The company's stock, which soared almost 10% a month ago on news of the sale of a 25% stake to Elevation, was back down to $16.22 by Thursday's close. —Andrea Orr

See June 4 story from TheDeal.com
See July 5 story from Barron's