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Microsoft announced its plan to acquire Visio on September 15, 1999, with the offer described as $1.3 billion. It completed the acquisition on January 7, 2000, and then reported the completed consideration as approximately $1.5 billion in Microsoft stock. Those figures refer to different stages of the transaction, not conflicting reports of a single cash price.

When did Microsoft announce and complete the Visio acquisition?

Microsoft’s acquisition history dates the Visio announcement to September 15, 1999. The company’s completion announcement confirms that date as the original announcement and says the acquisition was completed on January 7, 2000. Microsoft’s January 7, 2000 completion release described Visio as a pioneer in diagramming solutions for business and enterprise customers.

Why was the offer reported as $1.3 billion but the completed deal as about $1.5 billion?

The $1.3 billion figure belongs to the announced offer, as reflected in the title. After the deal closed, Microsoft described the consideration as approximately $1.5 billion in stock. A 2002 Microsoft filing adds detail: Microsoft issued 14 million shares, valued at approximately $1.5 billion, in exchange for Visio’s outstanding stock. The filing says the deal was accounted for as a pooling of interests. Microsoft’s 2002 Form 10-K is the source for the share count, reported value and accounting treatment.

Accordingly, $1.3 billion should not be presented as the final recorded transaction value. The later $1.5 billion figure is Microsoft’s reported value for the stock consideration; it does not mean Microsoft paid that amount in cash.

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How did Visio fit into Microsoft after the acquisition?

At closing, Microsoft said Visio would operate as the Visio Division within its Business Productivity Group. The initial integration also retained Visio as a standalone product rather than folding it into another application.

Sales and product availability

In a February 23, 2000 announcement, Microsoft said Visio products and volume-licensing agreements had been available through existing Microsoft sales channels since February 17. It named Visio 2000 Standard, Technical, Professional and Enterprise editions and said the applications would be sold as standalone products. Microsoft’s February 2000 release described the channel change as a way to make licensing easier for customers.

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What became of Visio?

Visio remains Microsoft diagramming software. As of September 28, 2026, Microsoft’s support pages describe it as a tool for flowcharts, organization charts, network diagrams, workflows, and home or office plans. The product’s current access options differ by license: Visio Plan 1 is web-only, while Plan 2 includes the full-featured Windows desktop app and browser access. Microsoft also documents a lighter Visio web app for eligible commercial Microsoft 365 subscribers; that entitlement is not the same as receiving the full desktop application with every Microsoft 365 subscription.

Microsoft describes Visio as a standalone application rather than software included in the Microsoft 365 suite. Its 2024 version documentation lists updated shapes, templates and styles, with additional stencils in Professional 2024. These are present-day product details, not features to project back onto the 1999 acquisition. For current access and licensing distinctions, consult Microsoft’s Visio installation and access guidance, Visio for the web overview and Visio in Microsoft 365 information; plan names and entitlements can change.

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