Microsoft Corp. today announced that it has completed settlement of its tender offer for
Fast Search & Transfer ASA, a leading provider of enterprise search
solutions. Microsoft's plans to acquire FAST were originally announced Jan.
8, 2008. FAST will operate as a Microsoft subsidiary, with a dedicated
enterprise search research and development center in Oslo, Norway, and
offices throughout the world.
"With our companies combined, we'll be uniquely able to offer customers
what they've been telling us they want most -- a strategy for meeting
everything from their basic to most complex enterprise search needs," said
Jeff Teper, corporate vice president for the Office Business Platform at
Microsoft. "I'm incredibly excited to have the talented team from FAST
joining us."
John Markus Lervik will transition from his role as FAST CEO to become
Microsoft's corporate vice president of Enterprise Search, reporting to
Teper. Under Lervik's leadership, the group's charter will include the
development of a comprehensive portfolio of enterprise search offerings,
including Microsoft Search Server 2008 Express, search for Microsoft Office
SharePoint Server 2007 and FAST ESP, and future delivery of a single
enterprise search platform.
"From the moment I started talking to Microsoft about the prospect of
bringing our talent and technology together, I realized what a powerful
impact we could have on the way companies use search to drive new revenue
streams and improve productivity," Lervik said. "Together we'll deliver
better technologies that make enterprise search a ubiquitous tool, central
to how people find and use information."
Existing FAST customers will continue to be served by their FAST sales,
services and support teams, while the combined product lineup immediately
extends customer choice. Further innovation across the entire enterprise
search portfolio -- on Microsoft Windows as well as on Linux and UNIX --
will help ensure that Microsoft and FAST customers receive best-in-class
offerings to meet their current and future needs.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in
software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize
their full potential.
SOURCE Microsoft Corp.
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