• Bloomberg, Thursday, January 10, 2008 10:47 AM

Microsoft Corp. is set for another big acquisition; the software giant on Tuesday agreed to a $1.23 billion fee for search company Fast Search & Transfer ASA. The Norwegian software maker creates products that help companies mine, store and manage search data. The offer is 42 percent more than Fast Search's closing price on Friday, Jan. 4, according to Bloomberg News.

Fast Search tailors search programs for clients, a service that will enhance Microsoft's corporate software program SharePoint, the company's fastest-growing piece of software by sales in its history. SharePoint generated nearly $1 billion in sales over the last year.

"This is an area of search where there's no clear winner, so this is a way for Microsoft to hit competitors where they ain't," said Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Charles Di Bona. "You're seeing Microsoft push into this area hard, and it's very complementary to what they do in server software and search." SharePoint competes with programs offered by tech giants Oracle Corp., SAP AG., and Google Inc.

Read the whole story at Bloomberg »