Microsoft has tapped Morgan Stanley to help sell Razorfish, the digital agency it purchased as Avenue A Razorfish in a $6 billion acquisition of aQuantive in 2007. The Avenue A component was cut loose in 2008.

French marketing firm Publicis Groupe SA is in the running to pick Razorfish off Microsoft's plate. The agency is valued at between $600 million and $700 million, based on last year's sales of $400 million and profit margins of 12 to 13% in similar businesses. Razorfish's client list includes McDonald's, Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Carnival Cruise Lines.