Microsoft wanted to buy Facebook in 2007

TechCrunch, a popular tehnoblog, found out that Microsoft was trying to buy the Facebook social network back in 2007. This resource was learned not from anonymous sources, but from Microsoft corporate strategy and acquisitions department manager Fritz Lanman. Lanman told this interesting news at the LeWeb conference, which took place yesterday and today, December 9-10. It is worth noting that in 2007 Microsoft was ready to give $ 15 billion for Facebook.

It is reported that the executive director of the corporation made such a proposal personally. Steve Ballmer simply came to the Facebook office to invite Mark Zuckerberg for a walk. On this walk, Ballmer offered to acquire Facebook, and Zuckerberg said that, according to experts, the market value of the social network reaches 15 billion. At that time, it was a somewhat overpriced amount, but Ballmer readily offered 15 billion, so that the social network went to Microsoft.
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Zuckerberg, in turn, said that he was not going to give leadership, and he agreed to sell only if he was able to manage the project. Understandably, Microsoft was not interested in such a deal, because the corporation had intended to manage Facebook itself after the purchase of the project. At the same time, Ballmer made another offer - the purchase of 1.6% of Facebook for $ 240 million. True, these 240 million went to Facebook for a reason, and in exchange for a promise to give the software giant the opportunity to take part in the social media advertising strategy.

In other words, Microsoft received preferential terms for placing its own advertising in exchange for a not so large amount for the corporation. In principle, companies retain partnerships. Moreover, in October, Facebook began working with Bing, Microsoft's search engine, to integrate the social and search components.

In general, quite an interesting story. In principle, Zuckerberg’s desire to preserve the leadership evokes respect, and even 15 billion have not become a weighty argument for the transfer of Microsoft’s Facebook.

Via techcrunch