While Everybody Was Flipping Out About Instagram-Facebook, AOL Closed Up 43% Today
There were two billion dollar deals in the tech space today.
The one that's getting most of the attention is Facebook buying photo-sharing app Instagram -- with only 13 employees and about 30 million users -- for more than $1 billion in cash and stock.
But that deal will only offer direct financial benefits to a few insiders.
For retail investors, there was actually a much more significant $1 billion deal today: Microsoft's purchase of 800 patents from AOL for $1.06 billion.
AOL's stock closed up 43% on the deal. It's now worth more than digital radio provider Pandora again, for the first time since last August.
Talk about unlocking hidden value!
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