If Microsoft makes any acquisitions in the next few months, don’t look for the term "billion" to be involved. Even "___ hundred million" may be out of the question. Microsoft’s CFO, Peter Klein, recently indicated that the corporation isn’t interested in spending lots of money.
Klein hinted that most companies aren’t offering bargain-bin prices right now, and perhaps Microsoft’s still playing it safe following the recession, too. "The stock market has clearly rebounded, so you sort of feel like you’re back to equilibrium," he said, according to Reuters.
And whether Google’s purchase of AdMob goes through – or any other significant deals occur – Microsoft shouldn’t be baited into playing a game of catch-up. Klein explained, "We try and think ahead, so that when things happen there is not this big fire drill – ‘Oh my God, somebody bought something."
So Microsoft is likely to just focus on implementing its arrangement with Yahoo, then, while perhaps picking up a few small companies here and there until things have settled down.
That seems like a wise approach. Of course, to be fair to Microsoft’s detractors and competitors, Google’s buy-everything-in-sight method of conducting business has gotten it pretty far.