SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Microsoft is pulling out of the joint venture that owned MSNBC.com, freeing the world's largest software maker to build its own online news service.

The breakup announced late Sunday dissolves the final shreds of a 16-year marriage between Microsoft Corp. and NBC News, which is now owned by Comcast Corp. The relationship began to unwind in 2005 when Microsoft sold its stake in MSNBC's cable TV channel to NBC.

Terms of the deal weren't revealed. The New York Times cited unnamed people knowledgeable about the deal who said Microsoft will receive about $300 million for in exchange for its 50 percent stake in the joint venture.