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Microsoft, Google want a piece of Facebook
September 24th, 2007
| By Justin Smith | 4 Comments » |
The WSJ is reporting today that Microsoft is in talks to acquire 3-5% of Facebook for US $500 million, giving Facebook up to a $10 billion valuation.
While rumors have swirled of a possible impending Facebook IPO in recent weeks, Facebook founders have indicated that they’re much more apt to take strategic investments than raise public money.
Microsoft is already in bed with Facebook and best positioned to strike a deal, having signed an agreement last year to be the company’s exclusive advertising partner through 2011.
And though Google has been rumored to be opening up its social graph in a few weeks to compete with Facebook, the Journal says Google and Facebook have also been in talks about a potential investment and future advertising partnerships. It’s clear that the guys over in Mountain View have been thinking long and hard about their strategy in the space.
Update: Facebook’s Brandee Barker declined to comment on the rumors this afternoon.
[tags]facebook,microsoft,google,investment[/tags]
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September 25th, 2007 at 4:22 am
[...] from thoughts that a $15 billion valuation is a tad too high, to observations that Microsoft is better placed to buy a stake in FaceBook that Google, however, there is a concensus that FaceBook is going to [...]
September 25th, 2007 at 9:37 am
[...] What kind of percentage Microsoft is talking about? How about 3-5 percent for $500 million? [...]
September 26th, 2007 at 12:04 pm
[...] You see, everyone is reporting almost insane growth in Europe. This could help legitimate the rumor of facebooks current 10 bn $ valuation. [...]
October 5th, 2007 at 12:37 am
I wonder if there exists top-notch engineers inside FB. If this stake purchase gives them(and other top-notch employees) a lot of cash (more than they have thought of when joining FB), may they leave with cash-out soon (given the fact that FB was around since 2004)?