14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has really started the shopping season as the Redmond-based software giant is reportedly interested in buying several important online companies, including Internet radio company Pandora.
A report published by InvestorPlace.com reveals that stocks of Pandora have already increased by 4 percent thanks to this rumor, even though it’s not yet clear whether Microsoft is indeed planning to buy the radio service.
While it’s hard to find a strong reason why Microsoft would purchase Pandora given the fact that it has until now invested millions of dollars in Xbox Music, Redmond might be actually looking into this company not only to take down a rival, but also to use some of its assets in order to make its very own product even better and attract a larger user base.
And still, there are a few reasons which could indicate that a deal between Pandora and Microsoft is basically impossible for the time being.
Benzinga notes that Pandora’s CEO is none other than Brian McAndrews, the same leader of the advertising firm aQuantive that was purchased by Microsoft in 2007 for $6.3 billion (€4.6 billion).
The acquisition in the end proved to be a rather disappointing move for Microsoft, which had no other option than to write off the entire value of the deal, so it’s not yet clear whether the software giant is again planning to purchase a company headed by McAndrews or not.
At the same time, people familiar with the matter revealed that Pandora was not the only company that could be bought by Microsoft in the coming months.
It turns out that online video sharing service Dailymotion, which is now owned by Orange, could also be taken over by Microsoft, as the Redmond-based tech giant is planning to launch its very own rival for Google’s YouTube platform.
Negotiations are yet to be confirmed, but it appears that Microsoft is one of the companies that are very interested in buying a stake in Dailymotion, with an announcement on the deal to be made in the coming months.
According to the preliminary talks, Microsoft might not get an active role in Dailymotion’s management, so Redmond might only get a stake to participate to further development of the service and let Orange take care of the entire business. This isn’t the first time when Microsoft is trying to buy Dailymotion, so chances are that there’s indeed some truth behind all these reports.