Microsoft 'mulls Facebook stake'
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Microsoft is in talks to buy a stake in the social networking site Facebook, the Wall Street Journal says.
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Microsoft is mulling an investment of up to 5.0 percent in the social networking site Facebook, a move that could set the stage for confrontation with rival Google, the Wall Street Journal reported.
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LONDON - Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. is discussing swapping social networking Web site MySpace for a 25 percent stake in Yahoo Inc., The Times newspaper reported Wednesday.
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Microsoft Corp  has showed early signs of narrowing the gap with Google Inc  in its Web business, leading Wall Street to ask whether the world's biggest software company may be able to turn an overlooked unit into a financial powerhouse.
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Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. is discussing swapping social networking Web site MySpace for a 25 percent stake in Yahoo Inc., The Times newspaper reported Wednesday.
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'We don't want your money now. But we might sometime soon' Mobile Windows Live Messenger users are reporting that Microsoft wants to take their money. But Redmond says it hasn't decided whether to take their money or not.â¦
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Microsoft yesterday announced a $240 million deal with Facebook, giving the technology giant a minority stake in the popular social networking site and the exclusive rights to sell worldwide advertisements that target Facebook's 50 million members.
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Business & money: Microsoft chairman denies the software giant is renegotiating its 'full and very fair' takeover offer
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InfoWorld - Facebook will sell a $240 million minority stake to Microsoft, which as part of the deal will also expand the advertising services it provides to the social networking phenom, the companies said Wednesday in a statement.
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Microsoft is rumored to be interested in investing in Facebook, in a deal that would value the social network at $10 billion or more. Just what else could you buy with $10 billion? It's the GDP of Bolivia, for starters.
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Online social network Facebook is  close to reaching a deal with Google Inc  or Microsoft  Corp  for an investment that would value the company as  high as $15 billion, according to media reports on Wednesday.
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For Microsoft Corp. shareholders, the holidays will likely come early this year in the form of a one-time &#36;3 dividend that's part of the company's plan to return some of its &#36;64.4 billion cash horde back to shareholders. But Microsoft won't hand out the cash unless shareholders allow the company to alter its stock compensation plans, so employees who hold stock options and stock awards aren't hurt by the dividend payout.
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It's hard to determine what's more surprising about Microsoft Corp.'s investment in Facebook Inc.  -  the appraisal that valued a 3 1/2-year-old Internet hangout at $15 billion or the rare snub of online search leader Google Inc
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Microsoft will take a 240-million-dollar stake in the wildly popular social networking website Facebook as part of an expansion of the two firms' strategic alliance, the companies said Wednesday.
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Facebook will sell Microsoft a $240 million minority stake.
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Microsoft said&#160;its $44.6 billion offer to purchase Yahoo&#160;is &quot;fair&quot; and hinted that it may pursue a hostile takeover of the Internet company, according to a statement Microsoft made Monday in response to&#160;Yahoo&#39;s formal rejection of its buyout offer.In a statement, Microsoft said it&#39;s &quot;unfortunate&quot; that Yahoo &quot;has not embraced&quot; its proposal to combine the two companies, and the rejection of the offer &quot;does not change our belief in the strategic and financial merits of our proposal.&quot;The company also hinted that it may take the offer directly to Yahoo&#39;s shareholders, a move that could result in a hostile takeover.&quot;As we have said previously, Microsoft reserves the right to pursue all necessary steps to ensure that Yahoo&#39;s shareholders are provided with the opportunity to realize the value inherent in our proposal,&quot; Microsoft said in its statement.Earlier Monday, Yahoo formally rejected Microsoft&#39;s bid to acquire the company in a half-stock/half-cash purchase, saying it undervalued Yahoo.On Feb. 1, Microsoft offered to pay $31 per share for half of Yahoo&#39;s outstanding shares in cash -- about $22.3 billion -- and 0.9509 of a Microsoft share for the other half. Microsoft&#39;s half-cash/half-stock offer to Yahoo was valued at about $44.6 billion at the time it was made; Yahoo&#39;s share price was $19.18 at the time.However, since then Microsoft&#39;s stock has gone down while Yahoo&#39;s has risen, making the deal, under its current terms, worth less than when it was originally offered. This led to speculation that Yahoo might look for other suitors; the company is reportedly looking for about $40 per share. Yahoo&#39;s share price closed at $29.87 Monday; Microsoft&#39;s closed at $28.21.Some have speculated that Microsoft would raise its offer to the company to about $35 per share -- about midway between its original offer and Yahoo&#39;s target price -- but in its statement on Monday, the company seemed adamant about keeping the offer as it stands.&quot;We are offering shareholders superior value and the opportunity to participate in the upside of the combined company,&quot; Microsoft said. &quot;Based on conversations with stakeholders of both companies, we are confident that moving forward promptly to consummate a transaction is in the best interests of all parties.&quot;Microsoft&#39;s offer to purchase Yahoo is an attempt to join forces and improve both companies&#39; positions against Google in online advertising and services. However, many questioned both the logistical complexity and cultural differences involved in combining the companies, and there are fears that it will thwart rather than help their efforts to compete with Google.Yahoo is reportedly in talks with both AOL and Google to try to avoid being acquired by Microsoft. Analysts said Monday that Yahoo&#39;s initial rejection of the offer is more of an attempt to elicit a higher bid -- either from Microsoft or another company. If none comes, the company might decide in the future to accept Microsoft&#39;s offer as it stands, they said.
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Microsoft Corp  has showed  early signs of narrowing the gap with Google Inc  in  its Web business, leading Wall Street to ask whether the  world&#39;s biggest software company may be able to turn an  overlooked unit into a financial powerhouse.