What was Microsoft thinking?

It’s odd to me that their opening bid was at $31 per share given that the stock was trading at $19. I don’t see why they did not offer a 40% premium – say $27 and give themselves room to negotiate upwards with everyone saving face.

Instead they offered $31 and said it was their final offer, which was not credible. They now will end up paying much more and have to deal with all the bad blood they created in the meantime.