[url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hKn0T1IOwng1NE5pvvZLewkJ5aVQ]Microsoft pulled a coup in getting a piece of Facebook. [/url] Most people seem to agree that MS paid too much; $240 million for a 1.6% stake and exclusive advertising rights. However, I disagree. $240 million is barely a blip on [url=http://valleywag.com/tech/earnings/-315262.php]Microsoft’s financial radar[/url]. It was obvious Facebook wasn’t interested in selling outright, but Microsoft positioned themselves strategically so well that they might as well have bought Facebook. They’ve successfully alienated Google and Yahoo from the overhyped social network and at a fraction of the price it would have cost to buy the whole company. This puts the total Facebook valuation at ~$15 billion, well out of the reach of Yahoo and even deep-pocketed Google. I think this was an outstanding move. They’ve priced all their competitors out of the market while maintaining their own status as partner-of-choice and exclusive advertising supplier.
Gee, I wonder why Mark looks so happy?
Maybe it’s because this valuation puts his share of Facebook worth about $3 billion. Not bad for a 23 year old CEO of a 4 year company.
Another interesting perspective I see is that the Facebook applications platform creates a perfect penetration point for a Facebook integrated Microsoft unified communications application. Sign into facebook and see a customized, webified version of Office Communicator including IM, file transfer and VoIP. 50 million instant customers with the potential to grow to 300 million based on Facebook’s growth estimates.
