Ballmer caves a second time – or does he?

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said last week he had a set price he would pay for Yahoo, and he meant it.

Yahoo’s board of directors didn’t move downward from its $37/share line after Ballmer upped Microslob’s initial offer to $33 from $31, so Ballmer has pulled the offer. And, he doesn’t appear to try to go with a hostile takeover bid.

Result? Many Wall Street analysts are predicting a raft of shareholder lawsuits against Yahoo.

If that’s the case, the only way out for Yahoo’s board may be to grovel back to Ballmer — who will make a nice $31/share offer.

However, there were other issues. Yahoo was worried, rightly, about regulatory issues. It also wanted a “lock-in” in Ballmer’s offer.