Microsoft sale of Expedia stake delayed

Microsoft Corp said the sale of its stake in Expedia Inc to USA Networks Inc has been delayed as a result of the television company's deal with Vivendi Universal.

The sale will now close in the March or June quarters, Microsoft said.

The deal was expected to result in a pretax gain of about $650m for Microsoft, and was due to close at the end of this year.

Expedia has delayed a shareholder vote on USA Networks' plans to buy up to a 75% stake of the company following Vivendi Universal's purchase of USA Network's film, cable and TV assets yesterday.