Microsoft may buy stake in Facebook
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Setting the stage for a possible bidding battle, Microsoft Corp. is mulling an investment in Facebook Inc. that would value the rapidly growing online hangout at $10 billion or more, according to a report published Monday.
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Microsoft Corp.  is in talks  to buy privately-held Tellme Networks, a maker of Web-based  voice technology, for about $800 million, the Wall Street  Journal reported in its online edition on Monday.
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The two companies confirm their partnership, with Microsoft taking a $240 million stake in Facebook as well as gaining the right to sell ads for Facebook internationally.
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Wall Street Journal reports  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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Yahoo has apparently offered $900 million for social networking site Facebook, media reports indicate. The offer is still being considered and negotiations said to be ongoing.
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Following a deal last August in which Microsoft agreed to handle all ad sales for popular social networking site Facebook, the Redmond company has signed a similar agreement with social news site Digg. Microsoft is working hard to establish itself in the ad industry, but faces stiff competition from Google.
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(InfoWorld) - News Corp. recently discussed swapping its MySpace social-networking site in exchange for a large stake in Yahoo, according to published reports. However, the status of the discussions remains uncertain because News Corp. made the proposal before Terry Semel resigned on Monday as Yahoo's chairman and CEO, according to reports published Wednesday by The New York Times and the U.K. Times. Both newspapers attributed the information to anonymous sources. The New York Times reported that News Corp. discussed with Yahoo the idea of giving up MySpace in exchange for a 25 percent stake in the Sunnyvale, California Internet giant. Meanwhile, the U.K. Times said News Corp. told Yahoo it wanted a 30-percent stake for MySpace. With Yahoo's market capitalization at $37.7 billion mid-morning Wednesday, the deal would put MySpace's value at between $9.4 billion and $11.3 billion. News Corp. bought MySpace along with other Internet properties for $580 million when it acquired Intermix MediaInc. in July 2005. The U.K. Times, which is owned by News Corp., reported that its parent company is interested in the Yahoo stake as a way to gain "exposure to a far larger Internet-based business." The New York Times characterized News Corp.'s overture as "informal" and as a "loose proposal" that hasn't generated "meaningful negotiations." The U.K. Times called the discussions "tentative" and potentially closed now that Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang has become its CEO. Yahoo reportedlyÂ tried unsuccessfully to buyÂ social-networking site Facebook for $1 billion last year. In May of this year, the U.K.'s Sunday Telegraph reported that Yahoo had expressedÂ interest in buying social-networking site BeboÂ for the same amount. Yahoo executives have in the past year publicly acknowledged the company is weak in the social-networking space, ruled currently by MySpace. In the U.S., MySpace attracted almost 80 percent of all visits to social-networking sites in April, followed in a very distant second place by Facebook with 11.5 percent, according to Hitwise. Bebo came in third place with 1.3 percent of visits. Yahoo 360, the company's social-networking site, took seventh place with 0.71 percent. News Corp. declined to comment about Wednesday's reports. Yahoo didn't immediately respond to requests seeking comment. Â
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For Google, buying a piece of Facebook would have been, well, nice. But for Microsoft, sealing the deal was an absolute necessity.
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The Motley Fool - It's no secret that Internet frenzy 2.0 has included a fair share of small Web start-ups getting bought out by Internet giants. Yahoo!'s (Nasdaq: YHOO - News) reported interest in buying social networking site Facebook last week is yet another case in point. However, craigslist founder Craig Newmark went on the record saying he's not in the least bit interested in a buyout. And guess what -- nobody should be in the least bit surprised.
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BREAKING NEWS - This afternoon, Microsoft won the apparent battle for an equity stake in social networking applications provider Facebook, making a $240 million equity investment in the company. In exchange, Microsoft will become the exclusive third-party supplier of Facebook's advertising platform.
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Rapidly rising Internet star Facebook Inc. has sold a 1.6 percent stake to Microsoft Corp. for $240 million, spurning a competing offer from online search leader Google Inc.
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The company is considering an investment of between $300 million and $500 million for less than 5 percent of Facebook.
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A deal between Facebook and either  Google Inc  or Microsoft Corp  is expected to  be announced in the next 24 to 48 hours, The New York Post  reported on its Web site on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources.
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Microsoft Corp.  is in talks to buy privately-held Tellme Networks, a maker of Web-based voice technology, for about $800 million, the Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition on Monday.
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InfoWorld - Microsoft has approached Facebook&#160;in recent weeks proposing an investment that would give Microsoft a stake of up to 5 percent in the popular social-networking company, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
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Microsoft Corp is talking to Facebook  about buying a minority stake in the fast-growing online social  network that could value the company at $10 billion or more,  the Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site on Monday.
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Microsoft Corp beat out Google Inc on Wednesday in a battle to invest in socializing Web site Facebook, agreeing to pay $240 million for a 1.6 percent stake in the Web phenomenon.