• The Wall Street Journal, Tuesday, May 12, 2009 12 PM

For the first time in its history, Microsoft Corp has sold bonds to investors, raising $3.75 billion. Due to its stellar credit rating, the software giant was able to sell at interest rates that were much lower than most other corporations, and only slightly more expensive than U.S. government debt.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Microsoft may be planning to use the money for an acquisition, but sources said the company didn't have a specific deal in mind for the cash; rather, it was seeking to take advantage of market conditions. Analysts think Microsoft is more likely to use the new cash to buy back its stock, which has fallen more than 30% in the last year. In an SEC filing, Microsoft said it plans to use the funds for "general corporate purposes."

Of course, the money could give the Redmond, Wash. giant the financial firepower to make a major acquisition or a series of major acquisitions, such as Yahoo's search business, microblogging sensation Twitter, or German corporate software maker SAP AG. Why else would Microsoft raise money when it has so much cash on hand?

Read the whole story at The Wall Street Journal »