Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) said it would purchase internet telephony network Skype Global for $8.5 billion in cash to expand its portfolio of real-time communications products and services. It will be Microsoft's largest acquisition in nearly three decades. At that price, a Skype takeover would top Microsoft's biggest previous acquisition — the $6 billion purchase of online ad service aQuantive in 2007.
Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) is trading at a price of $25.83 ,with change of 0.00 and with % change of 0.00 from its previous day's close. Currently, the company has a Market capitalization (total value of a company in the stock market) of approximately 217.82B.
Loss-making Skype, which allows people to make calls at no charge, would also give Microsoft a foothold in potentially the lucrative video-conferencing market. There had been reports last week that Skype was in acquisition or partnership talks with both Microsoft and Facebook.
Skype was taken over by eBay in 2005 for $2.6 billion in cash and stock. The online auction website aimed to use the software to improve communication between buyers and sellers, but the experiment failed.
Skype will become a new business unit within Microsoft, to be run by current Skype CEO Tony Bates. He will report directly to Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer.
In 2009 eBay sold a 70 percent stake to a group of technology investors including Silver Lake Partners and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for just over $2 billion.
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