Steve Ballmer Microsoft CEO said the company will try to fill holes in its business or enter new markets mostly via small deals, but he also said larger deals are "conceivable,".


"We have not, by default, opted for acquisitions as part of our strategy ... but we don't count them out either," he said. "In general, though (we focus on) smaller deals, we are open to large acquisitions.

News reports last Friday that

Microsoft has once again approached Yahoo for a potential merger. Ballmer declined to comment whether he was interested in acquisitions in the $40 billion to $50 billion.

"I don't think you should expect that most of our growth should come from buying large companies and taking costs out," Ballmer said, adding that such cost-reduction strategies are useful in slow-growing, more mature industries, but not software.