For Sale: Palm, Inc.

Bloomberg tells the tale that we’ve been expecting for a few weeks now.  Palm, Inc is for sale.

Though Bloomberg names only “people familiar with the situation”, the news comes with little surprise given Palm’s long-term trend.

Palm is said to be in talks with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Frank Quattrone’s Qatalyst Partners to find a buyer, with bids to be accepted as early as this week.

HTC and Lenovo have both shown some interest in Palm, and that news pushed a stock increase upwards of 30% this past week.  However, consideration has to be taken of the fact that shares of Palm dropped through the proverbial floor just three weeks previous as analysts dropped the target price to $0.

The news opens many doors, though, for makers who wish to capitalize on Palm’s WebOS.  With some smartphone companies struggling to release products that can keep pace with the quickly-changing market, a purchase of Palm might be the leverage that some need in order to stay competitive.