Facebook officials can’t be thrilled to have drawn the attention of Andrew M. Cuomo, the New York State attorney general. But it’s worth remembering that the social-networking site also has a pair of more attractive suitors: Microsoft and Google.
As The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday, both of those companies seem awfully interested in acquiring a piece of Facebook. Microsoft recently proposed to buy a 5-percent stake the social network, according to the newspaper, and its offer estimated Facebook’s overall value to be more than $10-billion.
Microsoft’s bid makes Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive officer, look smart for turning down a $1-billion offer that Yahoo reportedly made last fall. The social network’s year-old open-registration policy may have stoked Mr. Cuomo’s concerns about sexual predators, but it has also made Facebook an even hotter commodity for companies looking to get a leg up in the online-advertising market. —Brock Read
