AfterDawn: News

Microsoft offered $15 billion for Facebook in 2007

Fritz Lanman, Microsoft's senior director of corporate strategy and acquisitions, has confirmed today that the company unsuccessfully bid $15 billion for social networking giant Facebook in 2007, being rejected outright.

After being turned down, Microsoft instead purchased a small stake in the company for $240 million.



Added Lanman (via CW): "Yeah, we tried to acquire Facebook. Facebook had a lot of similarities to Microsoft back in the day."

The exec says he believes the company will one day be worth as much as Microsoft. Microsoft currently has a market cap of $233 billion, second only to Apple in the technology sector.

Facebook currently has an estimated value of $41 billion.

Both companies currently work together, with Facebook's search being powered by Microsoft's Bing search engine.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 10 Dec 2010 19:03

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• 7 comments

• doowop72

  That's alot of 0's (zero's).... geez

  10.12.2010 19:52 #1

• ROMaster2

  Because we needed more monopoly

  10.12.2010 20:35 #2

• plazma247

  Lets not forget microsoft i belive largely own apple now so technically they have No1 spot and the No2.

  14.12.2010 11:16 #3

• dEwMe

  Facebook will hopefully fade into obscurity soon...It's as lame as having AOL for your ISP...lol
  
  

  Just my $0.02,
  
  dEwMe
  

  14.12.2010 15:30 #4

• robertmro

  Originally posted by plazma247: Lets not forget microsoft i belive largely own apple now so technically they have No1 spot and the No2. Microsoft owns roughly 10% of Apple.

  16.12.2010 11:05 #5

• plazma247

  Originally posted by robertmro: Originally posted by plazma247: Lets not forget microsoft i belive largely own apple now so technically they have No1 spot and the No2. Microsoft owns roughly 10% of Apple. Are you sure i was under the impression bill some way had the marjority share... hence the famouse re-introduction of jobs on stage with the 40 ft gates standing behind him introducing.. i was the impression this was made possible by gates having a majority share.

  16.12.2010 13:36 #6

• Mez

  Originally posted by dEwMe: Facebook will hopefully fade into obscurity soon...It's as lame as having AOL for your ISP...lol
  That is a sweeping statement with no reasoning behind it. It will probably fade some but into obscurity? Why? You need to continually make large mistakes. I only see FB making small mistakes. Selling to M$ that would have been a mistake. They would trash it for sure.

  19.12.2010 12:43 #7