Whilst everyone seems to be losing their heads over Microsoft's "unfriendly" offer for Yahoo! it makes we wonder what this holds for the entrepreneurs and start ups in Silicon Valley and I'm torn:

(1)on the one hand Yahoo! has been a profilic acquirer of great start ups like flickr and dialpad and a microsoft-google hegemony means one less buyer, less M&A activity and lower valuations

(2)whilst Microsoft and Yahoo spend months if not years navel gazing and trying to work out how to co-exist (witness the turmoil at Skype and eBay) it gives focussed and passionate start ups the head space to create valuable businesses

Overall I'm inclined to think that overall this is a good thing for experienced and focussed entrepreneurs and start ups who have the resiliance and vision to build strong stand alone businesses as opposed to "pump and dump" artistes who were hoping to flip their companies quickly.