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Bill Gates Lied? Microsoft May Offer to Buy Out Facebook.
via Mashable! by Kristen Nicole on May 06, 2008
It was only a few hours ago that we heard from Bill Gates, who, during a press conference in Tokyo, said that Microsoft was planning on building an independent strategy for future growth and did not have a hole burning in its pocket, now that the Yahoo deal is dead (for now). The fact remains, however, that Microsoft still needs to find a way to improve its search and advertising tactics if it wants to beat Google and Yahoo. What Does Independent Mean to Bill Gates?
But perhaps Gates has a different understanding of the word “independent” when it comes to Microsoft. According to Kara Swisher, Microsoft has been seriously considering a complete buy-out of popular social networking site Facebook. Now, Microsoft already threw a $240 investment at Facebook, blessing it with a $15 billion valuation and making Zuckerberg one of the youngest to be on the short list for top billionaires.
So if Microsoft were to buy Facebook, all the money it would be paying for the social network would only be its own fault. But if anyone were to buy Facebook, I imagine Microsoft would be first in line. There hasn’t been any comments from Zuckerberg himself, but I don’t think we can expect much on that end either. Facebook has enjoyed holding out on acquisitions thus far, and look at it now.
In regards to Microsoft’s plans to improve search and advertising, I’m not sure Facebook would be the wisest choice right now, on either front. If Microsoft were to spend so much money on one acquisition, I would hope that the money would be well-spent on things that directly improve Microsoft’s search and advertising, as these are so central to Microsoft’s long- and short-term goals for its online strategy.
© Kristen Nicole for Mashable! - The Social Networking Blog, 2008. |Permalink |No comment | Add to
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