Suppose you own a company that both Microsoft and Google want to own a part of. Who do you choose to do a deal with? Do you base your decision on which company you think will be the stronger in the future or just on who’s offering the most cash? This is the present dilemma that Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg is facing right now. Both Google and Microsoft are neck-and-neck with striking a deal that would see either one of the two online titans getting a 5-to-10 percent ownership with Facebook. The deal is expected to close sometime today or tomorrow.

The potential deal is likely to be huge for whomever gets it. Both Microsoft and Google are set up to capitalize on serving advertising to Facebook’s 34 million members. No one from either of the three companies is offering to comment about the deal but if the “The New York Times” is reporting that it exists, take it to the bank.

Update: the deal was just announced and it’s Microsoft that won the contest. The software giant will pay Facebook $240 million for what it calls a “minority” stake in the website valued at $15 billion dollars. That’s about 1.6% of the company’s perceived value, a lot less than the 5-10% that the “Times” said the deal could be for.

via Yahoo