Silicon Valley was a place that worked hard to project a genteel, laid-back sort of cool. The reality was always--and still is--much different. It's a dog-eat-dog world, and you've got to have certain table manners. One unspoken rule was that hostile mergers would never work because the real value in the company--all those engineers--would walk out the door. That notion has been under attack of late, TheDeal.com notes. Oracle's $10.3 billion takeover of PeopleSoft set the train in motion. More recently, Electronic Arts pursuit of Take-Two Interactive, and of course Microsoft's play for Yahoo, suggest there is less worry about playing hardball. If the financing environment improves, hold on.  

For more:
- here's the article from TheDeal.com

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