IBM was in no position to buy Microsoft in the early 1990s. That was just when they were in financial trouble from the downturn in the mainframe business. Lou

IBM was in no position to buy Microsoft in the early 1990s. That was just when they were in financial trouble from the downturn in the mainframe business. Lou Gerstner took them out of that hole by laying off a lot of people. And, of course, Bill Gates, Paul Allen, and Steve Ballmer collectively owned a much larger chunk of Microsoft in the early 1990s than they do today. It would've been quite difficult to force through a hostile acquisition.