Bill Gates yesterday raised expectations that a Microsoft Corp plunge into the internet acquisition pool is imminent when he said that he believed internet sock valuations to be too high but, despite that, Microsoft will probably participate in this frenzy a little bit. It is widely thought that Microsoft has had various conversations with internet players over the past few weeks, including Excite Inc and everyone’s favorite acquisition rumor, Lycos Inc. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Gates said that the hyper-valuations applied to the whole computer industry right now – not just internet stocks: I do find the valuations of high-tech companies in general surprisingly high, the Financial Times reported him saying, adding that in his opinion, technology companies should be valued at less than established companies such as Coca-Cola and Walt Disney Co, which have long histories of solid earnings.
