Microsoft Corp. [MSFT] is getting the word out that it's not interested in raising its $31 a share offer for Yahoo! Inc. [YHOO] Its logic: Why bid against yourself when Yahoo! has no superior alternatives?

Then again, there might be one reason--time. Completing a transaction  sooner rather than later is in Microsoft's interests, particularly because any deal of this magnitude would be subject to an extensive regulatory review. Getting Yahoo! on board with that process by making Microsoft's offer, which currently values the target at $29.25 a share, a little friendlier might be a good idea. And now that Google Inc.'s [GOOG] acquisition of online advertising company DoubleClick Inc. has closed, there's even more reason to move quickly for competitive reasons.

Not that we're talking peanuts here. Every dollar Microsoft tacks on to its bid adds more than $1 billion to the price tag, a concern for the software giant's shareholders. With Microsoft apparently standing firm on its offer, the onus remains on Yahoo! to prove to investors that it has other plans for topping the roughly $42 billion deal. -- David Shabelman

See April 1 story from Reuters
See April 1 story from The Wall Street Journal
For more see All Things Digital, Tech Trader Daily and Between the Lines