Microsoft directors negotiating with possible next CEO

Microsoft Corp. directors are said to be negotiating with 22-year company veteran Satya Nadella to succeed Chief Executive Steve Ballmer, according to a person familiar with the matter.

If the board finalizes the pick, Nadella would become the third person to lead Microsoft since Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded the company in 1975, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Nadella has said he desires continuity at the company and hopes to lean on Gates.

"It is clearly a safe pick," said Dan Fletcher, a research analyst at Neuberger Berman LLC's Large Cap Disciplined Growth, a Microsoft investor.

Read more from the Wall Street Journal.