Microsoft to take stake, expand alliance with Facebook
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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 strategic alliance of the two firms, the companies said Wednesday.
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Microsoft Corp beat out rival Google Inc on Wednesday in a battle to invest in socializing Web site Facebook, agreeing to pay $240 million for a roughly 1.6 percent stake in the Web phenomenon and expand a deal to sell advertising.
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Microsoft will become the new provider of paid search and contextual advertising links on sites run by The Wall Street Journal, the companies announced.
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Microsoft Corp is talking to Facebook about an investment in the company that could value the fast-growing social network at $10 billion or more, the Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site on Monday.
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Microsoft Corp  said on  Wednesday it would pay $240 million for a 1.6 percent minority  equity stake in Facebook in a deal that values the popular  social networking Web site at $15 billion.
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The Wall Street Journal reports that Microsoft may take a stake of up to $500 million in social network, which could push valuation toward the $10 billion mark.
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Microsoft is apparently looking to purchase a five percent stake in social networking site Facebook, the Wall Street Journal reports.
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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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Under the broad partnership, Viacom's TV and movie content will find its way on to Xbox and MSN, while Microsoft will be able to server ads to Viacom's U.S. web sites.
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A Microsoft Corp. MSFT.O spin-off on   Tuesday said it will take on Internet social networks   MySpace.com and Facebook.com, touting tools users can buy to   craft better-looking Web pages.
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Microsoft prevailed in a high-profile technology industry battle with Google and Yahoo to invest in the social networking upstart.
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Like rival lovers, Google and Microsoft are intensely courting Facebook as the social-networking upstart picks petals off a flower -- &quot;she loves me, she loves me not&quot; -- and tries to decide which of the two will be allowed to buy a minority stake in the company, according to press reports.The Wall Street Journal and The New York Post reported Wednesday that Facebook will likely make a decision within a day or two, and that the chosen company will also get a deal to provide ads for the social network&#39;s sites outside of the U.S.Google, Facebook, and Microsoft all declined to comment when contacted by IDG News Service.Founded in 2004, Facebook&#39;s popularity has skyrocketed during the past year or so. Its user ranks have increased to about 47 million active users today from 12 million in December. More than half of its active members return to the site daily.As such, it is perceived as an attractive vehicle for online advertising, although some industry experts question how effective social-networking sites are for advertisers.In a social-networking site, particularly one as restricted as Facebook, people mostly visit the pages of their acquaintances, to see their latest comments, photos, and videos.For Facebook, MySpace, and other social sites like YouTube and Flickr, it&#39;s still unclear whether enough advertisers will feel comfortable running their ads on pages with potentially objectionable material whose creation is largely unregulated and created by millions of individuals.Facebook will likely share ideas for revving up its advertising business on Nov. 6, when it holds an event in New York to which it has invited what it calls &quot;its closest advertisers.&quot;&quot;As part of [the event], Facebook executives will discuss new approaches for advertising online,&quot; a Facebook spokeswoman said. &quot;We are not sharing any further details.&quot;In addition to the advertising questions, Facebook, MySpace, and others are in the crosshairs of law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad because sexual predators use social-networking sites to stalk and victimize people, in particular minors.Still, Facebook is the Internet company with the loudest buzz now, and the anonymous sources for the Journal and the Post articles suggest that the price of the minority stake in play gives Facebook a total valuation of between $10 billion and $15 billion.Both newspapers reported that in addition to Google or Microsoft, other investors might be involved in the acquisition of the ownership stake.The Journal first reported Google&#39;s and Microsoft&#39;s pursuit of the Facebook investment a month ago.
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Microsoft Corp said on Wednesday it would pay $240 million for a 1.6 percent minority equity stake in Facebook in a deal that values the popular social networking Web site at $15 billion.
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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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Rumors that Microsoft is negotiating a stake in social networking site Facebook could mean another bubble in Internet company values.
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The investment ends two months of jockeying among Microsoft, Google and Yahoo for the right to invest in and forge close ties with the fast-growing social networking Web site.
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Microsoft Corp  agreed to  acquire Parlano, which provides technology to allow companies  to create group chat sessions for employees, and add the  application to its portfolio of communication offerings.