Musing on the Prospects of a Microsoft Counterbid for Motorola - NYTimes.com:

Google’s $12.5 billion deal for Motorola Mobility is widely considered aggressive, with a hefty 63.5 percent premium that few would dare try to top.

But analysts at Macquarie seem to think that one of Google’s biggest rivals — a certain software giant based in Washington State — may step up to the plate anyway.

In a research note published on Tuesday, Kevin Smithen of Macquarie wrote that Microsoft may make its own bid for Motorola, driven by the patent war roiling the smartphone world.