Microsoft Investment Rescued Rival Apple

In 1997, Apple was close to bankruptcy when longtime rival Microsoft bought $150 million in nonvoting Apple stock. The deal also kept Microsoft Office on the Mac for five years, made Internet Explorer the platform's default browser, and settled a bitter patent dispute. The investment gave Apple both cash and a badly needed public vote of confidence. Many observers suspected Microsoft wanted to keep a major competitor alive while facing antitrust scrutiny, although Microsoft denied that antitrust concerns motivated the deal.

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