Microsoft buys Hotmail email service
Reuters Story - December 31, 1997 11:02
REDMOND, Wash., Dec 31 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp.
, beefing up its offerings on the Internet, said on Wednesday
it bought e-mail service provider Hotmail Corp. for an
undisclosed sum.
Microsoft will make Hotmail a part of its Microsoft Network
online service, offering free e-mail to all Internet users, the
company said.
For the past year, Microsoft, the world's biggest personal
computer software company, has been acquiring or setting up
partnerships with companies that provide services through the
World Wide Web. Earlier, Microsoft licensed technology from
Inktomi Corp. to let computer users search the Web.
The Hotmail acquisition "completes a strategy we've had for
the past nine months to offer the key services that people want
on the Internet," said Laura Jennings, vice president of
Microsoft Network.
Hotmail, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., allows computer users
to send and receive e-mail through the Internet for free. It
makes money through advertising sent to its 9.5 million
subscribers.
Jennings said Microsoft was not only interested in
Hotmail's big customer base, but also its technology. Hotmail
has developed special software to handle huge amounts of e-mail
at once.
Other Internet "destination" sites, such as Yahoo! Inc.'s
search engine, have introduced free e-mail in recent
months to attract more viewers. |
