Slashdot Mirror
Three Reasons Microsoft Paid So 'Little' For Facebook
An anonymous reader writes "Microsoft's $240 million investment is much smaller than the rumored $750 million that Facebook sought. Why the difference? Wired Epicenter's Terrence Russell analyzes the deal, and points out three good reasons why Microsoft got a 'bargain'. 'Microsoft Only Needs an Entrenched Position - Ballmer's plan to acquire 100 startups in 5 years is still sketchy, but we got the point -- Microsoft wants momentum. If the company is to go forward as planned then taking a small, strategic piece of Facebook makes sense. Microsoft's financial interests in Facebook's ad platform already exist, so it only makes sense to strengthen that tie as the hype builds.'"
Buy low? I figured out who all you slashdot people are. Mr. Gates, Mr. Ellison, Mr. Trump, Mr. Carmak...
;)
$240,000,000 and you folks say that's a bargain? If I had $240,000,000 I sure wouldn't blow it on a website! I'd blow it on fast cars and expensive booze and hookers. Hell, I'd stick it in the bank at 5% interest and blow the $12,000,000 interest on fast cars and expensive booze and hookers every single year and leave the whole $240,000,000 to my kids. Come to think of it, if I had that kind of money I wouldn't NEED hookers!
I might even buy an iPhone, too.
-mcgrew
mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
hey, your not "Tom" as in "Tom" from Myspace are you?
Under the influence of Post-Cyberpunk Gonzo Journalism
Never ascribe to malice what can adequately be explained by incompetence.
Microsoft corollary: Unless it's Microsoft then never ascribed to incompetence or bad management what can adequately explained by pure unrelenting evil.
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
Man #1 - MS wants to buy 100 startups? Maybe they will buy a couple that can show them how an OS is supposed to work?
/. shirt) Imagine a beawolf cluster of 100 companies........
Man #2 - Redacted, turned out to actually be a woman
Man #3 - Wasn't this the MS business plan since way back in the early 90s? This is news?
Man #4 - (claiming to be spouse of man #2) Is there really 100 startups worth buying? I thought the venture capitalists were becoming a bit put off on the whole tech thing?
Man #5 - (throws a chair) MS will buy 100 startups if they have to secretly pay those companies to start up... MS will kill the competition in the buying startups sector!!
Man #6 - Will they support iTunes?
Man #7 - (dubiously wearing a
Man #8 - Shouts "Sorry, have to run and go start a company......"
Seriously, 100 startups? Why not 49? Why not 'as many as it takes'... what is the deal with 100? Microsoft begins with an M, why not 1000 startups?
Support NYCountryLawyer RIAA vs People
Balmer: $750 million dollars?? ****Agrrrrahhahahhahahah***** (throws chair)
Facebook: Ok $240 million could do nicely as well.
You must be on Facebook, what, with your mispelling and all!
BG: Your Internet ad was brought to my attention, but I can't figure out what, if anything, Compuglobalhypermeganet does, so rather than risk competing with you, I've decided simply to buy you out.
H: I reluctantly accept your proposal!
BG: Well everyone always does. Buy 'em out, boys!
H: Hey, what the hell's going on!
BG: Oh, I didn't get rich by writing a lot of checks!
Well, we know how this will go. First M$ invests in them, and they start to suck. G'bye Facebook!
that money would've been much better spent in making their products as good as/better than the competitions to give consumers more incentive to not defect.
Not all conservatives are stupid,
but it is true that most stupid people are conservative.
- Hume
Facebook? I'm gonna make my own! With hookers! And blackjack!
That's right, blame the users.
occultae nullus est respectus musicae - originally a Greek proverb
Yeah, perhaps they realised any price they pay would be far more than this bubble 2.0 site's actually worth.
davidyes=pwned
then I could tell all my friends to come on MyFace