Sources tell Bloomberg that Cisco (CSCO) has little intention of meeting the demands of a group of investors who would like it to reach a bit deeper into its wallet before they hand over their 24 percent stake in Tandberg, the world’s second largest manufacturer of videoconferencing kit. Cisco would rather walk away than sweeten a bid that represents a 38.3 percent premium on Tandberg’s closing share price on the day before news of a possible acquisition broke.

Or that’s what Cisco wants them to think, anyway. Because scrapping what is a pretty strategic deal for the company would be silly at this point given Cisco’s huge cash reserves. Rumors that it would “strongly consider walking away” from Tandberg are likely more gamesmanship than anything else.

“I think it’s quite unlikely that they’ll drop their offer, everything points to them buying Tandberg,” Arctic Securities analyst Martin Hoff told Bloomberg. “It’s probably smart of them to send some signals to scare the shareholders into accepting the offer.”

Sacconaghi believes that Dell (DELL) isn’t interested in a “transformational” acquisition, though its interest in the handset market might suggest otherwise. Rather, the company is mulling the acquisition of small- to medium-sized enterprise-related companies.

“While there has been speculation that Dell could look to acquire a handset company and we continue to believe that a consolidation play in the PC space could make sense for additional details, Dell appears focused on boosting its enterprise business by acquiring small to medium sized companies with strong margin profiles and higher levels of recurring revenues,” Sacconaghi writes.

Which companies? Software, services or storage and networking outfits, most likely, says Sacconaghi. Companies like Perot Systems (PER), Salesforce.com (CRM), Compellant (CML) and 3Com (COMS).

“We see Dell potentially looking to acquire a smaller remote infrastructure management company, or a smaller outsourcer–Perot fits the latter description, and is possible, but it is unclear that it is a willing seller, and its unique concentration (50 percent) in healthcare may be too narrow a platform for Dell’s offerings,” the analyst writes.

“…Dell’s software acquisitions to date have largely centered around systems management and we believe that similar types of companies could be acquired to further expand Dell’s capabilities. Also in software, we believe that [Salesforce.com] would be strategically consistent with Dell’s efforts to drive business at mid to large enterprises, but would be expensive ($4.8B current market cap) and would have a limited impact on revenues ($1.1B in their last FY)….

“Given that Dell’s biggest enterprise partnership is in storage, we believe the company could look to acquire additional IP for its own use. Compellent and CommVault (CVLT) could be appropriate targets. We think a networking deal is less likely, but purchasing someone such as 3COM and attempting to commoditize the networking space would not be inconsistent with Dell’s stated enterprise strategy.”

An interesting list of targets. Still, you’ve got to wonder why it doesn’t include Palm (PALM). After all, Dell really can’t afford to miss out on the handheld market completely. Can it?

Or Palm (PALM), to indulge a years-old rumor. Palm is a logical target, isn’t it? Buying the company would place Dell firmly in the smartphone market it has so often expressed interest in. Can’t imagine an overture from Round Rock would go over too will with Palm’s new leadership, though. Surely Jon Rubinstein didn’t accept the CEO seat at Palm with the understanding that he might someday be working for Dell.