LinkedIn shopped itself to at least 4 other companies before selling to Microsoft (LNKD, CRM, MSFT)

We knew that before Microsoft paid $26 billion for LinkedIn, the social network was also reportedly in talks with Salesforce, which ultimately couldn't afford to compete.
Thanks to a new filing today with the SEC, we now know that there were actually five corporations at least interested in buying LinkedIn — though we don't know which, beyond Salesforce and the eventual winner, Microsoft.
The filing goes into some detail into how the Microsoft-LinkedIn deal came together.
Microsoft CEO Sat