Deals
Salesforce Pushed Microsoft to Up LinkedIn Bid Before Deal
- Three other companies were involved in process, filing says
- Facebook CEO Zuckerberg said to turn down chance to bid
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Salesforce.com Inc. battled Microsoft Corp. for LinkedIn Corp. deep into the negotiating process, forcing the world’s largest software maker to boost its offer to buy the professional-networking service just days before the $26 billion deal was announced.
Three other companies were involved in the discussions, which lasted almost four months, according to a regulatory filing Friday. One of those was Facebook Inc., which passed on an acquisition, according to a person involved in the negotiations.