Slow and Steady Wins the Race, Eh Speedy?

Microsoft CFO Chris Liddell said last week that “speed is of the essence” in completing a deal to buy Yahoo.

So why is it taking the company so damn long to respond to Yahoo’s latest stonewalling of its advances? Three days have passed since the expiration of Microsoft’s deadline for Yahoo to accept its buyout offer or face a possible tender offer and proxy battle. And we’ve heard not word one from Microsoft (MSFT), which had–up until Saturday–lobbed threats at Yahoo (YHOO) nearly as often as it issues security bulletins for Windows.

Well, that may soon change. People close to Microsoft tell CNBC that the software giant is girding itself for a proxy fight. And CNBC, noting a sudden upward trend in Yahoo’s share price today, speculates that Microsoft may launch its opposition slate of directors as soon as tomorrow.

Or it may not. A source with knowledge of the situation tell BoomTown that Microsoft may make good on its threat to scrap the deal. “I would not have said this yesterday,” the source said. “But I would not be surprised if they walked away rather than waged war.”