Is Yahoo! dead or alive?

Just about an hour old, the Wall Street Journal is now reporting that the recent rumors of the more than $1 billion acquisition of Tumblr by the not so leading Yahoo! is now a reality. Approved by the Yahoo! board the announcement could happen as early as this morning (5/20/2013)

According to WSJ, Tumblr would continue to operate as a stand alone independent of Yahoo! The merits of this acquisition along with the other recent Yahoo! acquisitions in 2013 have been heavily scrutinized. With on hand cash reported to be in the area of the price of these acquisitions, analyst are questioning the value behind moves like this.

Couple this with rumors of leaderships changes on the horizon, one can say that this smells like a desperate attempt to stay relevant.

These are bold moves for Yahoo!, but we need to assume that there is a vision. We can debate what that vision is, but one thing is for sure; Yahoo! is spending cash, and lots of it. 

Thoughts?