收购风云再起，Path成为热门

    Facebook现在正全力以赴准备下月上市，资金似乎不是Facebook关注的目标，但它拒绝就此发表评论。但是对莫林来说，钱可能也不是他最在意的，毕竟有报道称，去年他曾拒绝了谷歌公司（Google）1亿美元的出价。

    而Facebook打算拿Path怎么办则完全是另一个问题了。它可以关了它，复制它此前收购对象的做法，设法拿回被（这些曾经的竞争对手）大量夺走的用户使用时间（Path声称它能与Facebook和平共处。比如，这两家公司已将联系人进行了整合）。或者它可以让Path独立成长，一如它对Instagram的承诺。但萨弗表示：“其中的奥妙在于，作为一家已经规模不小的公司，怎么能同时保持小规模呢？聪明的做法就是让像Path这样的公司继续独立成长。”

    可以确定的是，Path很可能将继续保持对用户的吸引力。正像萨弗表示的，它已经拥有富有吸引力的资产了，包括基于其设计优势而拥有的令人垂涎、精巧优美的专利。那还需要和Facebook达成交易吗？ “可能只有两个人才知道这个问题的答案，”萨弗称。“不过这也正是这个故事之所以更加引人入胜的原因所在。”

    译者：清远

    Money doesn't seem to be an object for Facebook, which declined to comment, heading into its sky-high market debut next month. But money may also not be the concern from Morin, who reportedly turned down $100 million offer from Google (GOOG) last year.

    What Facebook would do with Path is another question entirely. It could shut it down, like it has acquisitions past, and try to take back the hours of user engagement that had been siphoned off. (Path claims it can coexist with Facebook. The two companies already have contacts integrations, for instance.) Or it can let Path grow separately, like it has pledged with Instagram. "The trick is, even if you're a big company, how do you keep it small?" says Saffo."The smart thing would be to let something like Path grow."

    What's certain is that Path is likely to remain attractive. It already has potentially lucrative assets, including coveted and sophisticated patents that Path likely has because of its design edge, says Saffo. A deal with Facebook though? "There are probably only two people who know the answer to that," says Saffo. "But it is definitely what makes the story all the more interesting."