Adobe Shares Soar On Rumor Of Microsoft Bid

SAN JOSE (AP) - Shares of Adobe soared in heavy trading Thursday on a report that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer discussed a possible buyout of the company.

A report posted in the The New York Times said Ballmer recently met with Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen to talk about Apple's control of the cell phone market and how Microsoft and Adobe could work together to fend off the iPhone maker.

It was in this context that a possible buyout of Adobe by Microsoft Corp. came up, according to The Times.

Adobe Systems Inc. makes Photoshop and the Flash technology used for Web videos.

A representative for Adobe did not immediately return a message seeking comment Thursday. Microsoft had no comment.

Adobe ended the session up nearly 12 percent to $28.69.

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