President and CEO of Adobe Shantanu Narayen. At right, Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's CEO. Source: Bloomberg

If there really are talks about Microsoft possibly acquiring Adobe, mum is the word.

When asked at a business conference today in Madrid if the software giant was interested in buying Adobe, Steve Ballmer, Microsoft chief executive, said, “No comment…We have got a bunch of CEOs in the audience. Does anybody ever comment?

“If you are going to do something, you say nothing. So I will be entirely consistent with standard CEO operating procedures,” he added.  

A recent New York Times article sparked the question when it reported a meeting between Ballmer and Adobe’s CEO Shantanu Narayen.

The meeting covered several topics, but mainly focused on “Apple and its control of the mobile phone market and how the two companies could team up in the battle against Apple. A possible acquisition of Adobe by Microsoft were among the options,” the article said.

This is not the first time, however, talks about an acquisition have transpired between the two companies. Microsoft had courted Adobe several years ago about a possible acquisition, but backed away amid antitrust concerns, the New York Times reported.  

Although an acquisition could make sense for Microsoft and software maker Adobe to contend against Apple, Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Brad Reback said, “the two companies are more likely to collaborate than do a deal.”