Should Microsoft Corp’s Directors Have Approved The Company’s Facebook Deal?

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace) -- At the time that Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) purchased a small share of Facebook, the criticism was relatively muted, and it’s only belatedly that the deal’s critics have become more vociferous in denouncing what they perceive to be its many downsides, including its overall lack of prudence on the part of Microsoft.

"Microsoft’s October purchase of a 1.6 percent Facebook stake implicitly valued the social-networking Web site at $15 billion. Even at the time, some people questioned such an eye-popping valuation. But as the months have passed, the number is looking even more bubbly," The New York Times reported in an online article on Friday.

This raises the question as to whether the company’s Board of Directors are protecting the interests of the company’s shareholders.

NewsVisual created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map that illustrates the business connections among Microsoft’s Directors in order to determine whether they are prepared to meet the company’s challenges.

The Knowledge Map shows that Microsoft’s board is extremely diverse in terms of the number of different industries represented.

For example, besides the software and computer industries, Microsoft Directors have experience in several other industries: Director Dina Dublon is the former CFO of JPMorgan Chase; Director Raymond Martin is the former Chairman/President/CEO Merck & Co; Director Reed Martin is the Founder/Chairman/CEO of Netflix; and Director Charles Noski is the former Vice-Chairman AT&T Corp.

Click here for an interactive version of this IntellectSpace Knowledge Map.

(Note: the information contained and presented in Knowledge Maps is public information from the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America).