Microsoft to acquire Skype?
10 May 2011 by Olav Hellesø-Knutsen An announcement of Microsoft buying Skype could be official later this evening. Sources say USD 8.5 billion will change hands in what could be Microsofts biggest acquisition ever
According to Wall Street Journal, Microsoft is about to aquire Skype for $8.5 billion. The announcemend will be made public later today. Skype has 663 million users where 8 million are paying customers. Microsoft will pay close to 13 USD per user if the acquisition numer is correct. So what will Microsoft want with Skype? The Windows Phone 7 operating system could need some expansion help and Skype could be the must-have application that can attract more users to the platform. If the acquisition is going through it will be Microsofts largest ever. Alternatively post this in the Esato forum Please sign in to your Esato account to leave a comment regarding this article  korbindallis12 years, 12 months agowhy !!!!!!!!!!!! How about the rumours Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is in talks about either buying Skype or doing a joint project with them?
Its just gone official: http://m.engadget.com/default[....]ry=classic&icid=eng_latest_art
This is going to be very interesting. 
From what I read Google and Facebook were after SKYPE and Microsoft in addition to wanting it to strengthen their hands in the online media and phone calls area and integrate this with Windows mobile, they also did not want Google to get its hands on Skype.
So this was not just about jumping into the free phone calls business but a hedge against Google. Does this mean we will see a Windows Phone 7 Skype integration?
Probably. Microsoft is under pressure to diversify away from the PC market which is under heavy pressure from Mobile phones and tablets. Think about it, which do you use most, your mobile or your computer?
Besides Skype has 663 million users and if Microsoft can get them to go through their others services such as Bing then more revenue and power to them. Apple, Google and Facebook have become much more important to everyday users than Microsoft in many ways. This is just playing a bit of catch up for them. [ This Message was edited by: skblakee on 2011-05-10 17:02 ] it's all about google vs microsoft  
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