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IP: believe who you will Canada urging Microsoft to move north
From: Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>
Date: Fri, 02 Jun 2000 18:03:33 -0400
From: "Niall Kennedy" <niallk () ucla edu> To: <farber () cis upenn edu> Subject: RE: Canada urging Microsoft to move north Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 14:59:55 -0700From Reuters:SEATTLE--Microsoft and Canadian officials today poured cold water on reports authorities in British Columbia were trying to lure the software behemoth north amid its antitrust battle with the U.S. government. Microsoft, which has been in the Seattle area since the late 1970s and employs nearly 20,000 people in its sprawling corporate campus in Redmond, Wash., said it was staying put. "There is no truth to the reports of any intent to move the company," Microsoft spokesman Jim Cullinan said. A report on the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) Web site said that by moving its headquarters into Canada, Microsoft would frustrate attempts by U.S. antitrust officials to break up the company. "Microsoft believes we will win this (antitrust) case in the (U.S. federal) court of appeals, and we are very happy here in Seattle," Cullinan said. The BBC report said officials in British Columbia had offered to do a deal with Microsoft that could include a loan to build a new headquarters. B.C. Investment Minister Gordon Wilson, whose office was cited as the source of the offer, said the rumor that the province had offered an incentive deal began with a California newsletter on technology stocks. "I haven't had any formal talks with anyone with Microsoft," Wilson told reporters in Victoria, the province's capital. Other Canadian observers said it was unlikely that the world's biggest software company would pack up and move. "I wouldn't put much credence in it, quite frankly," Darcy Rezac, managing director of the Vancouver Board of Trade, said of the BBC report. "Microsoft may have its battles with the U.S. government, but it's an excellent corporate citizen of Seattle. The suggestion that they'd move their headquarters to Vancouver would be wonderful if it were possible, but I just wouldn't put credence in it." "I think it's just a little bit of puffery coming out of California by people in the industry who think that Microsoft has been badly treated," said Frank Came, executive director of the Vancouver Economic Development Commission (VEDC). Cullinan said Microsoft has received suggestions over the years from countries such as Norway, Ireland and China that it should relocate its headquarters or build a large presence outside of the United States. Microsoft, founded in Albuquerque, N.M., in 1975, relocated to Bellevue, Wash. in January 1979 and to its current Redmond site in 1986. -----Original Message----- From: owner-ip-sub-1 () admin listbox com [mailto:owner-ip-sub-1 () admin listbox com]On Behalf Of David Farber Sent: Friday, June 02, 2000 2:56 PM To: ip Subject: IP: Canada urging Microsoft to move north SEATTLE--Canada is encouraging software giant Microsoft to relocate its operations to British Columbia, according to reports. Any agreement may hinder the U.S. government's efforts to break up the company. Still, Microsoft denied it is discussing the matter with British Columbian authorities, British Broadcasting said without citing sources. U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson yesterday delayed issuing for at least a week an order expected to split Microsoft, granting the government's request to file additional legal briefs. Copyright 2000, Bloomberg L.P. All Rights Reserved.
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- IP: believe who you will Canada urging Microsoft to move north Dave Farber (Jun 02)