Microsoft clinches Facebook deal

Submitted by Benton Foundation on October 25, 2007 - 9:12am
Last updated: February 21, 2008 - 9:12am

MICROSOFT CLINCHES FACEBOOK DEAL
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Daisuke Wakabayashi]
Microsoft beat out rival Google 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. Microsoft and Facebook said the $240 million investment valued Facebook at $15 billion, which analysts said was a steep price and a bet the young company would be able to transform itself into a hub for all sorts of Web activity. Microsoft said it would be the exclusive third-party advertising platform for Facebook, which has more than 49 million Internet users. That extends a previous deal into Facebook sites outside the United States. Some 250,000 new users register on Facebook each day.
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN2424560420071024

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