Microsoft Corp is said to be close to announcing a tracking stock for Microsoft Network and its other internet assets, in order to capitalize on investors’ appetite for pure-play web businesses. The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that people familiar with the situation say an announcement about such a move may come as early as this week. If it decides to spin out its internet properties into a publicly-traded business, Microsoft could use the likely high valuation of the stock to fund further internet- related acquisitions and attract top-flight executives to manage the unit. A tracking stock could include MSN.com and the Hotmail free email service, as well as WebTV and other properties.
