In Pictures: Microsoft’s 10 biggest buys

This is the largest single investment among many Microsoft has made in the Japanese cable TV market. After Microsoft bought controlling shares in Titus, it bought up the largest cable operator in Japan, Jupiter. Microsoft owned 24% of the shares in the combined company, according to Directions on Microsoft. Overall, Microsoft has invested more than $8.4 billion in Japanese cable companies with the idea of accelerating the growth of Japanese broadband networks and Internet access that would promote use of Microsoft products. Since its investments, Microsoft has instead cashed in on its shares in Japan cable holdings.