Microsoft is reportedly in talks to make a strategic investment in Dailymotion. The Paris-based website claims to be the second biggest video-sharing platform behind YouTube, and was almost bought by Yahoo lat year before the French government blocked the deal. Unlike Yahoo, Microsoft may not be interested in grabbing a controlling stake in Dailymotion. Instead, the software giant is reportedly in talks with Dailymotion’s largest shareholder, Orange, over a possible partnership.
France’s Orange SA ORA.FR -3.47% is seeking to sell minority stakes in its online-video website Dailymotion to Microsoft Corp. MSFT -0.40% and others, as it moves to expand the service globally and put the failed sale of a majority stake to Yahoo Inc. YHOO -0.43%last year behind it. Orange has been looking for partners to expand Dailymotion outside of France and in particular in the U.S. to better compete with Google Inc. GOOG +0.62% ‘s YouTube since last spring, when a deal to sell to Yahoo was blocked by the French government. Orange chief executive Stephane Richard on Tuesday told a French TV channel that the firm was in talks with Microsoft after hinting for the past months about discussions with a “major U.S. web player” over a possible partnership.
