Facebook played Google and Microsoft against each other, driving up the value of both the ad deal and the equity investment. Zuckerberg went with Microsoft. According to people who worked with him at the time, Zuckerberg correctly assumed that Google would come to recognize the importance of social networking and that forming an alliance with his neighbor could set up a conflict. After heated discussions between Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Zuckerberg that fall, during which Ballmer offered to buy Facebook outright, according to multiple people involved in the matter who were not authorized to speak publicly, Microsoft agreed to invest $240 million in Facebook at the then-astounding valuation of $15 billion. The highest amount Ballmer could invest without seeking clearance from his board? $240 million
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