Early this morning Microsoft went official with news that has been rumoured for the last 24 hours – it has saved up its pocket money and is using it to buy Skype, the ubiquitous VoIP service, for a cool $8.5 billion.
Other suitors like Facebook and Google had also been in the bidding, but it would seem Microsoft has delved the deepest in order to secure the deal. In a press release the software giant says of the deal –
“The acquisition will increase the accessibility of real-time video and voice communications, bringing benefits to both consumers and enterprise users and generating significant new business and revenue opportunities. The combination will extend Skype’s world-class brand and the reach of its networked platform, while enhancing Microsoft’s existing portfolio of real-time communications products and services.”
Quite how Microsoft will use Skype’s product is at this point somewhat vague. When Skype was acquired by eBay in 2005, there were vague plans to integrate the service into eBay auctions, allowing sellers and buyers to converse in real-time, however the acquisition quickly went sour and eBay offloaded the majority of its Skype ownership at a loss. Happily, the valuation by Microsoft means eBay will actually make a profit when its remaining share is sold to Steve Ballmer and Co.
Microsoft has stated –
“Skype will support Microsoft devices like Xbox and Kinect, Windows Phone and a wide array of Windows devices, and Microsoft will connect Skype users with Lync, Outlook, Xbox Live and other communities. Microsoft will continue to invest in and support Skype clients on non-Microsoft platforms.”
Good news for users of Skype on other platforms, and potentially a boon for XBox owners, who could be video chatting from their sofas in no time.
Last year Skype made a loss of $7 million on revenues of $860 million, and has been struggling with monetisation issues – recently announcing it would be introducing advertising to the service. Clearly this was a strategic infrastructure decision for Microsoft rather than a financial one, most likely to make sure the firm is competitive with Apple and Google, both of whom have recently introduced video calling services for their handsets and tablets..
