Microsoft’s Ballmer: MSFT will acquire 20 companies a year

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said at the Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco that the software giant will acquire 20 companies a year for the next five years, ranging from $50 million to $1 billion.

This steals from the playbook of News Corp, the media company that generated excitement among Internet companies after it acquired MySpace and others. There's a tactic here: By declaring you are hungry, you get entrepreneurs coming to you to show you their wares -- letting you get a glimpse of emerging technology even if you're not going to buy it.

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