Filed under: Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT)

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) ended up owning. 1.6% of Facebook, the second largest social network. The investment of $240 million values the private company at $15 billion.

The Wall Street Journal writes that “the Microsoft agreement comes after intense lobbying by Microsoft and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) for Facebook’s hand. In recent weeks, executives including Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer have courted the three-year-old Palo Alto, Calif., company.”

Descriptions of the deal indicate that it focuses on helping Facebook to expand overseas with Microsoft supplying support by selling display advertising in the new markets.

But exactly what the world’s largest software company gets for its money is a little unclear. It does keep Facebook out of the hands of Google.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, October 25th, 2007 at 5:18 am and is filed under Stocks Money News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.