Microsoft, a company that apparently has 8.5 billion dollars just sitting around, is evidently purchasing Skype for a figure rumored to be close to 8 billion. Last night, the Wall Street Journal was saying between 7 and 8 billion, this morning I’m reading 8.5 in an all cash deal. Regardless, it’s easily the biggest acquisition in Microsoft history. Skype’s current owners are eBay and Silver Lake Partners and they’ve apparently been looking to get rid of it for a while. So why does Microsoft do this? Skype could fit in well with Office products in the workplace. It also gets Microsoft a little more in the game in the mobile space. If Skype could be really well integrated and baked in to Windows Phones, that’s a legit competitor to Apple’s Facetime and it sets up well for the future where (allegedly) we all make video calls all the time. Microsoft is already being knocked around for overpaying for Skype.
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
