Microsoft on the Ropes ?

**sapperuk** · 07-03-2012, 01:56 AM

Spotted this

BBC News - Microsoft in $6.2bn write-down of aQuantive
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Microsoft in $6.2bn write-down of aQuantive
Microsoft logo The charge effectively wipes out the value of aQuantive

Microsoft is taking a $6.2bn (£4bn) charge on the value of an online advertising firm bought five years ago.

Microsoft bought aQuantive for $6.3bn cash in an attempt to catch rival Google in the race to grow revenues from search-related advertising.

The write-down effectively wipes out the acquisition's value, although there was little impact on Microsoft's share in after-hours trading on Monday.

The purchase of aQuantive in 2007 was then Microsoft's biggest acquisition.

The company said in a statement on Monday that "the acquisition did not accelerate growth to the degree anticipated, contributing to the write-down".

The charge is likely to wipe out any profit for the company's fourth quarter. Wall Street was expecting Microsoft to report fourth-quarter net profit of about $5.25bn on 19 July.

In addition to the charge, Microsoft said its forecast for future growth and profitability at its online services arm - which includes the Bing search engine and MSN internet portal - are "lower than previous estimates."
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Will there be the same headlines as Rim gets I wonder ?
(Tongue in cheek !)

**jafobabe** · 07-03-2012, 02:09 AM

You mean they are actually writing about something other than RIMM???

'Bout dagnabit time.!

**sapperuk** · 07-03-2012, 02:15 AM

Why was this moved from the News forum ?

It was on topic in that I was raising the question 'would the media jump on Microsoft in the same way as they have done with Rim', when the news reported is just as bad as Rims earnings call

**Laura Knotek** · 07-03-2012, 02:20 AM

Originally Posted by sapperuk

Why was this moved from the News forum ?

It was on topic in that I was raising the question 'would the media jump on Microsoft in the same way as they have done with Rim', when the news reported is just as bad as Rims earnings call

News & Rumors is about BlackBerry news.

The Microsoft writedown has nothing to do with BlackBerry or even Windows Phone. It is related to advertising via the Bing search engine.

**JasW** · 07-03-2012, 05:55 AM

MS bought aQuantive back in the day when they were tracking Google, which had just bought out Double Click. Unlike Google, which turned Double Click into a valuable asset for target based advertising, MS simply let aQuantive sit there. Dumb move, and they're writing down. The Skype purchase, which cost more, was anything but dumb. That will pay off in spades. Not that you'll ever know by owning a BB or PB.