YES - Nigel Gwilliam, head of digital, IPA
It's difficult to call a company that makes an unsolicited bid a white knight.
However, Microsoft is certainly the best hope for Yahoo's shareholders. This was clearly indicated near the end of June when Yahoo's floundering share price leapt in reaction to rumours of a further bid by Microsoft.
Unhappy shareholders are making life unpleasant for Yahoo's board and their lot is not being made any easier by the flight of numerous senior executives.
For the advertising industry, the best hope is for a real competitor to Google to emerge, redressing imbalances caused by its growing global dominance.
YES - Arjo Ghosh, chief executive, iCrossing
We desperately need diversity in digital. By that, I mean the right quality and amount of inventory for companies to promote themselves.
Google has such a heavy presence; it's like it was when ITV dominated the TV market.
The Microsoft/Yahoo deal is interesting as it would bring big competition to Google.
The fact that Google pretty much jumped in a car and drove over to Yahoo to sign a deal indicates how significant and important it is for Google to keep competition out of the search market.
Overall, what we have now is a wounded number two in the search market, with Yahoo's share price failing to pick up.
This suits Google - to keep Yahoo alive and healthy - but not too healthy.
In essence, Google has secured itself another few years as number one in the search market.
NO - Paul Frampton, head of digital, Media Contacts
Let's put to one side the share price and the internal squabbles for a moment. Microsoft woke up late to the advertising game and still lags behind in search and its off-site strategy.
To my mind, Yahoo has a strong strategy for the future, with its more developed "network" aspirations and moves into the area such as its Right Media purchase.
The integration of aQuantive by Microsoft is still in its infancy, while Right Media is already live.
I see greater innovation coming from Yahoo - its board just needs to agree on the way ahead for itself.
Microsoft and Yahoo make a powerful challenger to Google, but Yahoo has at least as much to give as Microsoft.
YES - Simon Mansell, managing director, TBG London
Yahoo is in trouble. It became un-focused and tried to do too much. But the company has a great brand and is doing plenty of interesting things.
It just needs whipping into shape. For Microsoft, this is part of its strategy to reposition itself as a 21st-Century company. It doesn't just do software - now it enables people to work and play together via the internet.
Yahoo would be a great addition to this plan, along with Microsoft's stake in Facebook.
But we know what the big prize is: Google.
There's no way Microsoft or Yahoo alone could take on Google. Only together would they be strong enough to make a dent in Google's empire.
They are also both natural enemies of Google and could work strongly together.