Facebook Inc. has said no to Google Inc. and yes to Microsoft Corp.'s 240 million U.S. dollar offer to purchase a 1.6 percent stake in the social networking website.
The investment announced Wednesday values Palo Alto, Calif.-based Facebook at 15 billion dollars — a stunning amount for an online hangout started in a Harvard University dorm room less than four years ago.
Microsoft also will sell Internet ads for Facebook as the site expands outside the United States, broadening a marketing relationship that began last year.
"This is a strong statement of confidence in this partnership and in Facebook," Kevin Johnson, president of Microsoft's platforms and services division, said during a Wednesday conference call with reporters and analysts.
Besides validating founder Mark Zuckerberg's decision to reject a 1 billion dollar takeover offer from Yahoo Inc. last year, Microsoft's money should be more than enough to pay for Facebook's ambitious expansion plans until the privately held company goes public.
Zuckerberg, 23, has indicated he would like to delay an initial public offering for at least two more years. Until then, Facebook hopes to become an advertising magnet by substantially increasing its current worldwide audience of nearly 50 million active users, who connect with friends on the site through messaging, photo-sharing and other tools it offers.
Although News Corp.'s MySpace.com remains the largest social network, Facebook has been growing much faster the past year.
Facebook attracted 30.6 million U.S. visitors during September compared with 68.4 million at MySpace. Microsoft's entry in the social networking arena — “Windows Live Spaces” — attracted 9.8 million U.S. visitors, according to comScore Inc.
Souirce:Xinhua/agencies
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article