Microsoft to Acquire 5% Stake in Facebook
Rumours are spreading today about the possibility of Microsoft acquiring a 5% stake in Facebook, for anywhere between $300 to $500 million.
If my math is correct, that values Facebook at anywhere up to $10 billion, although Mark Zuckerberg has shown signs of not budging for less than $15bn.
Remember when Yahoo made a run at Facebook for $1bn?
For anyone following Facebook over the last few months, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. After acquiring Parakey and hiring the former CFO at YouTube, it is clear that Facebook has been looking to make some big moves. Could this be it?
It is likely that this is a move from Microsoft which will play part in its larger plan to catch up with rival Google. This would be a key acquisition for either of the companies as they realize how important social networking has become to consumers, not to mention Microsoft’s attempt to dominate Web advertising (more than the already-existing Facebook/Microsoft deal that is set to expire in 2011).
While this is just a rumour, it will be interesting to see what happens. Google and Yahoo could make a comeback offer to Facebook, although Google has been pouring many of its efforts into its own social networking site Orkut (www.orkut.com)
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