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Microsoft to take equity stake in Facebook; companies expand advertising

deal to cover international markets.

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    PALO ALTO, Calif. and REDMOND, Wash., Oct. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
 Facebook(R) and Microsoft Corp. today announced that Microsoft will take a
 $240 million equity stake in Facebook's next round of financing at a $15
 billion valuation, and the companies will expand their existing advertising
 partnership. Under the expanded strategic alliance, Microsoft will be the
 exclusive third-party advertising platform partner for Facebook, and will
 begin to sell advertising for Facebook internationally in addition to the
 United States.
     (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO )
     "We are pleased to take our Microsoft partnership to the next level,"
 said Owen Van Natta, vice president of operations and chief revenue officer
 at Facebook. "We think this expanded relationship will allow Facebook to
 continue to innovate and grow as a technology leader and major player in
 social computing, as well as bring relevant advertising to the more than 49
 million active users of Facebook."
     "Making this investment and expanding this partnership will position
 Microsoft and Facebook to better take advantage of advertising
 opportunities around the world, and is a great win for not only for our two
 companies, but also our collective users and advertisers," said Kevin
 Johnson, president of the Platforms & Services Division at Microsoft. "We
 have partnered well over the past year and look forward to doing some
 exciting things together in the future. The opportunity to further
 collaborate as advertising partners is a big reason we have decided to take
 an equity stake, and is a strong statement of our confidence in the
 long-term economics of this partnership."
     Facebook continues to experience strong growth both in the U.S. and
 international markets; 59 percent of Facebook's users are outside the U.S.
 With an average of 250,000 new users registering each day, Facebook
 continues to be one of the most-trafficked sites on the Internet.
     On Aug. 22, 2006, the companies announced a U.S.-only strategic
 alliance that named Microsoft the exclusive provider of standard banner
 advertising on Facebook using Microsoft's digital advertising solutions and
 the Microsoft(R) adCenter platform. In early 2007, the terms were extended
 to 2011.
     About Facebook
     Founded in February 2004, Facebook is a social utility that helps
 people communicate more efficiently with their friends, family and
 coworkers. The company develops technologies that facilitate the sharing of
 information through the social graph, the digital mapping of people's
 real-world social connections. Anyone can sign up for Facebook and interact
 with the people they know in a trusted environment. Facebook is a part of
 millions of people's lives and half of the users return daily. Facebook is
 a privately-held company and is headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif.
     About Microsoft
     Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq:   MSFT) is the worldwide leader in
 software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize
 their full potential.
     Facebook is a registered trademark of Facebook, Inc.
     Microsoft is registered trademark of the Microsoft group of companies.
 
 

SOURCE Microsoft Corp.

RELATED LINKS
http://www.microsoft.com