Microsoft upped LinkedIn bid to beat Salesforce

San Francisco

SALESFORCE.COM Inc battled Microsoft Corp for LinkedIn Corp deep into the negotiating process, forcing the world's largest software maker to boost its offer to buy the professional networking service just days before the US$26 billion deal was announced.

Three other companies were involved in the discussions, which lasted almost four months, according to a regulatory filing last Friday. One of those was Facebook Inc, which passed on an acquisition, according to a person involved in the negotiations.