• Seattle PI, Friday, April 18, 2008 12:30 PM

John Cook has the inside scoop on Microsoft's pick-up of Farecast, a Seattle-based travel search startup. Cook's sources say that Microsoft paid $115 million for Farecast, and though the software giant confirmed the acquisition, the spokesperson didn't say how much the deal cost.

The two companies had partnered in the past (via a content-sharing deal for MSN Travel), and Microsoft's spokesperson said that the plans are to "incorporate and apply" Farecast's price forecasting technology in "new and interesting ways."

Cook reports that the software giant wasn't the only interested bidder, particularly in light of the recent Sidestep acquisition by Kayak. "That deal led to new opportunities for Farecast, including discussions with Microsoft which heated up in the past 90 days," he says.

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