Microsoft rules out slew of Internet buys: report
Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer speaks during a luncheon and conference on technology and innovation in Madrid April 25, 2008.
Credit: Reuters/Susana Vera
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O) CEO said the company will not seek to make a spate of other Internet acquisitions in the wake of its failed bid for Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O), the Financial Times reported on Friday.
Speculation has emerged that Microsoft could try to buy Facebook, in which it already owns a small stake, the AOL division of Time Warner (TWX.N) and a slew of smaller concerns, the newspaper reported in its online edition.
"People don't understand what they're talking about," Chief Executive Steve Balmer said in an interview with the Financial Times.
"At the end of the day, this is about the ad platform. This is not about just any one of the applications," he added.
Microsoft abandoned a $47.5 billion offer to buy Yahoo last month, but had more recently discussed a deal to take a 16 percent in Yahoo and buy its search business for $9 billion as part of its effort to establish a stronger foothold in online advertising.
(Reporting by Matt Daily)
