The
smoke surrounding who would grab a chunk of Facebook finally cleared Wednesday afternoon, with Microsoft Corp. announcing a $240 million
equity investment that values the social networking company at $15 billion. The two companies also agreed to expand an existing advertising agreement under which Microsoft is Facebook's exclusive third-party advertising platform technology provider, both in the U.S. and internationally.
The deal marks one of the few instances when the Redmond, Wash., software giant has bested Google Inc. in a deal. Rumors have swirled for weeks that the two rivals were angling for a stake in Facebook. The timing of the announcement appears calculated--it came as Google was hosting its annual analyst day, which smells like an attempt to steal the search giant's thunder.
No comment from Google yet. - Olaf de Senerpont Domis
See press release from Microsoft and Facebook
See Oct. 24 post from CNNMoney.com
See Sept. 28 story from TheDeal.com
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