Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp. said Bruce Jaffe, who heads its acquisitions, is leaving as the largest software maker gives individual unit leaders more control over deals.

Jaffe, a vice president and 12-year Microsoft veteran, will leave Feb. 29, spokesman Bill Cox said today in an interview. He declined to comment on Jaffe's plans. Jaffe, 43, didn't return a call or e-mail.

Microsoft has increased the size and pace of purchases amid stronger competition from rivals such as Google Inc. Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer is pushing more responsibility to the company's three presidents to find deals and keep the $51 billion company nimble as it grows.

``Microsoft has showed that it will do bigger, faster and more acquisitions,'' said Brendan Barnicle, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities in Portland, Oregon, who rates the shares ``outperform.'' ``That's not going to change with Bruce leaving.''

Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington, closed about 50 deals in the past two years, Cox said. In August, the company completed its biggest acquisition, the $6 billion takeover of Internet advertising firm AQuantive Inc.

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The agreement was announced a month after Google won a battle to buy AQuantive rival DoubleClick Inc., a purchase intended to expand Google's dominant position in Internet search-related ads into parts of the market where Microsoft is stronger. In Microsoft's most recent fiscal year, Google's Internet ad revenue outdid Microsoft's by a margin of 7-to-1.

Microsoft rose 99 cents to $34.44 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares have climbed 15 percent in the past year. Google rose $21.52 to $653.20 and has risen 35 percent.

Before the AQuantive purchase, Microsoft had shied away from multibillion-dollar buys. Its previous largest purchase was the $1.45 billion acquisition of small-business software maker Navision A/S in 2002.

Yesterday, Microsoft agreed to buy Norway's Fast Search & Transfer ASA for 6.6 billion kroner ($1.23 billion) to add software products that help companies mine, store and manage data.

Jaffe served as vice president of corporate development for the past two years. Before that, he was chief financial officer for Microsoft's MSN Internet unit. He also held roles in MSN business development and corporate strategy.

Facebook Investment

In October, Microsoft agreed to pay $240 million for a 1.6 percent stake in social-networking Web site Facebook Inc., an investment that valued the site at $15 billion. Microsoft company also purchased voice-recognition software maker Tellme Networks Inc., mobile-phone ad company ScreenTonic SA and medical-information search engine Medstory Inc. in the past year.

Microsoft has three presidents: Kevin Johnson, head of the Windows and Internet group; business-division president Jeff Raikes; and entertainment and devices president Robbie Bach. They were appointed by Ballmer in 2005 to decentralize power and take some tasks off his plate.

Just last month, Jaffe spoke at a Red Herring conference in Seattle to discuss what types of companies Microsoft looks to acquire, noting that it seeks firms with an engineering and product focus.

With his experience as a CFO and work at the center of key Internet-related deals such as AQuantive and Facebook, Jaffe ``could find a very interesting position at a lot of different companies,'' Barnicle said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Dina Bass in Seattle at dbass2@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: January 9, 2008 18:56 EST