Microsoft could buy Yammer for $1bn

SOFTWARE HOUSE Microsoft will neither confirm nor deny rumours that it might buy the social networking service Yammer.

Bloomberg has a source that says that it will, and has put a $1bn figure on the deal. However Microsoft was ready with a canned statement that adds some magnolia colour to the affair.

As we've heard so many times in the past, it said, "Microsoft does not comment on rumour or speculation." But it has been known to splash out on firms that are popular amongst users in markets where it has failed to place itself.

Last year it bought the voice over IP and chat messaging service Skype, and Yammer, which is an enterprise social networking firm, could fit in somewhere around Sharepoint and Office and give the company a social network that businesses might enjoy using.

Alternatively, it might just grind Yammer under its heel and laugh. Until either firm confirms the deal, which could be announced as early as next week, we can only guess. µ