Technology
Microsoft completes acquisition of Skype
By Seattle Business Magazine October 14, 2011
Microsoft on Friday (Oct. 14) closed the
deal for Internet phone company Skype. The acquisition
Microsofts largest ever at $8.5 billion was announced in May. Skype now
becomes a division of Microsoft and Skype CEO Tony Bates assumes the title of
president of the Skype Division, reporting directly to Microsoft CEO Steve
Ballmer.
As part of the deal, Skype will continue to operate a series of worldwide
offices. The Skype division will continue to offer its current products to
millions of users globally. Longer term, Skype will also be integrated across
an array of Microsoft products to broaden Skypes reach and accelerate its
growth as a fundamental way people communicate online, a news release from
Microsoft said.
Notably absent from the announcement was news of whether Skypes phone and
video services would remain free. A Microsoft spokesman said the Skype user
experience should remain the same. Bates talked about the merger in a video posted on the
Microsoft website. I’m sure in a lot of people’s minds post-merger is the
simple question: Will the Skype experience change? The answer is an emphatic
no. The value proposition of Skype is being multiplatform across different
devices, whether it’s PCs, desktops, mobile phones, whether it’s in the living
room, and that’s key and that must stay. We’re committed to that, he said.
Founded in 2003, Skype was acquired by eBay in 2005 and then sold to an
investment group led by Silver Lake in 2009. More than 300 million minutes of
phone calls are made through Skype services daily and the company currently
boasts more than 170 million users.
Skype reported net revenues of $860 million in 2010. Microsoft’s stock price
was flat on the day at $27.27 a share.