This may not come as a surprise to Eagle-eyed readers. Microsoft will actually need to borrow money to acquire Yahoo, chief financial officer Chris Liddell confirmed, according to Reuters.

Microsoft said that it intends to pay $44.6 billion for Yahoo, one half in stock and the other in cash. Microsoft’s current balance sheet reveals that the firm has about $21.1 billion in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities. If the deal goes through and will be completed, as Microsoft expects, in the second half of this year, the company may have just about as much cash as it needs to pay for Yahoo out of its savings account.

However, instead of draining its cash reserves, the company may actually consider to take on debt. Reuters quoted Liddell saying that "it’s likely we’re actually going to borrow for the first time," in a strategy meeting with analysts. "It’s going to be a mixture of the cash we have on hand plus debt."

Kim Caughey, senior analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group told Reuters that "Microsoft can probably get a lower price of debt than equity. I’ve often wondered why Microsoft sits on the pile of cash. It doesn’t make a lot of financial sense."