Microsoft this week refused to up its price for a potential takeover of Yahoo as both companies approach tomorrow’s deadline for the end of friendly talks. A Reuters report states Microsoft claims it is ready to go hostile or even call off its bid – now worth about US$44 billion – if Yahoo maintains “unrealistic expectations” of a better deal. “Speed is of the essence for the deal to make sense,” CFO Chris Lindell said on a conference call yesterday. If no deal is reached by this weekend, Microsoft will reconsider its offer and reveal new plans next week, he added. The statements came as Microsoft revealed an 11% fall in fiscal third quarter net income. Earlier this week Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said Yahoo’s better-than-expected first quarter results, reported on Tuesday, had not changed Microsoft’s view of its value.

Meanwhile Microsoft has nominated a team of proxy candidates for a hostile Yahoo takeover, despite internal unrest among Microsoft employees about the deal, reports The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). The software company has reportedly compiled a list of 10 nominees and three alternatives for the Yahoo board. However, Microsoft staff are reportedly concerned about possible job losses at its online services department and the general pressures of absorbing Yahoo into its business structure, says WSJ.