Microsoft Calls off Claria Deal

[pricethat]

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Microsoft Calls off Claria Deal
Wednesday, July 13, 2005

ClickZ, citing a Microsoft staffer close to the talks, broke the news that Microsoft has ended acquisition talks with behavioral targeting firm Claria. The source, who asked not to be identified, said concerns that a PR fallout might follow the purchase Claria, which has been accused in the past of acting like a spyware firm, effectively resulted in ending the discussions. The source told ClickZ that Microsoft would consider buying other companies with behavioral targeting technology.
News of a possible buyout emerged nearly two weeks ago. Rumors that the acquisition would go through were fueled when Microsoft's anti-spyware program downgraded the threat risk on the Claria GAIN adware product from "quarantine" to "ignore" (see adjacent graphic).

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three cheers there then, despite what claria state they are what they are no matter how they try to sugar coat it

[Brendon]

They should have taken the heat. This counts as a serious strategic error for MS, IMO