Dow Jones NEWSWIRES

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) plans to sell most of the 800-plus patents it is buying from AOL Inc. (AOL) since it doesn't consider all of them essential, Bloomberg News reported Thursday, citing a person with knowledge of the matter.

Bloomberg, citing two people with knowledge of the matter, also reported that Facebook Inc. made an offer for the AOL patent portfolio before AOL reached an agreement with Microsoft. Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg led the negotiations for the patents, one person said, according to the report.

Full story at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-19/facebook-said-to-have-bid-for-aol-patents-before-microsoft-s-win.html

-Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2900