• TechCrunch et al., Friday, April 23, 2010 12:57 PM

Location-based social network Foursquare is reportedly the hottest acquisition target from the Valley to the Alley, but top bloggers are portraying its prospects -- along with its own aims and ambitions -- quite differently.

"It's already been widely reported that Yahoo is seriously pursuing a Foursquare acquisition, but now we're hearing that at least two other companies are in talks or have been in talks recently with the location-based startup as well," writes TechCrunch. "And they're big ones: Facebook and Microsoft."

"Facebook, from what we're hearing, has been talking to Foursquare about a range of possibilities in recent weeks, but seems to have cooled on the idea of an outright acquisition," TechCrunch adds. "Microsoft, meanwhile, is likely still thinking about buying the company, according to sources."

Regarding the startup's CEO and co-founder Dennis Crowley, a source tells TechCrunch: "Dennis is seriously considering his options."

GigaOm suggests that Facebook could be considering a Foursquare bid because it didn't introduce any location-based features at its F8 conference, this week.

According to SFGate.com: "Stupidly hot mobile startup Foursquare is taking all kinds of offers from brand name VCs and Silicon Valley behemoths looking to buy."

Wrong, wrong, and wrong, writes Boom Town's Kara Swisher.

"No, Microsoft is not poised to snap up the social location start-up, beyond a cursory should-we-look query to itself," Swisher writes. "No, Facebook is not in serious talks to buy Foursquare ... No, there is no longer a crazy bidding war going on among major venture players in Silicon Valley, all waiting with bated breath for Foursquare founder and CEO Dennis Crowley to make his decision of which of them he will deign to take a big pile of money from."

What's more, "Foursquare is being just as vague and unclear to us, which I think means they don't know what they want," one VC who's been considering funding the startup tells Swisher.

Also, contrary to TechCrunch's report, a source "personally familiar the situation" tells Business Insider that Digital Sky Technologies -- the Russian firm that has invested big in Facebook and Groupon -- is not pursuing an investment in Foursquare.

Read the whole story at TechCrunch et al. »