Ballmer to Yahoo: You Will Be Assimilated

Turns out BoomTown was right: Microsoft (MSFT) did pooh-pooh Yahoo’s (YHOO) first quarter performance. And it did it before the company even posted earnings.

In remarks today at the launch of Microsoft’s Web portal for North Africa, MSN Maghreb, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said Yahoo’s first-quarter performance has no bearing on its value to Microsoft. “We think we can accelerate our strategy by buying Yahoo and will pay what makes sense for our shareholders,” Ballmer said. “I wish Yahoo all the success with its results, but it doesn’t affect the value of Yahoo to Microsoft.”

Of course, the real question is does it affect the value of Microsoft’s $31-a-share offer for Yahoo, an offer that some observers say Redmond will be forced to raise if it ever wants to acquire the company.