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Dayton Business Journal...
Microsoft to pay $8.5
billion for Skype
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Microsoft has beaten out Google and Facebook in negotiations to buy
Skype, and will pay $8.5 billion for the Internet video service company.
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is buying the Internet calling service from an
investor group led by Silver Lake.
The deal has been approved by both companies’ boards of
directors.Microsoft will use Skype’s technology to support Microsoft
devices including the Xbox and Windows Phone and Microsoft will connect
Skype users with Lync, Outlook and Xbox Live.
Microsoft said it will continue to invest in and support Skype clients
on non-Microsoft platforms.
Reports this past week indicated a bidding war was shaping up for
Skype, but reported Google Inc. and Facebook were the frontrunners for
the deal that was estimated to be valued at between $3 billion to $4
billion at the time.
One news service reported that one source said Facebook CEO Mark
Zuckerberg has discussed a possible acquisition internally.
kype filed for an IPO in August but put that on hold after it hired
former Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) Senior Vice President Tony
Bates as CEO.
Cisco Systems was also reported to be interested in buying Skype last
summer. Reuters reported that companies such as Apple Inc. (Nasdaq:
AAPL) and Google both have eyed rival projects similar to Skype.
Skype originally was bought by eBay Inc. before being spun off to a
group of investors.
The outcome of Skype’s possible acquisition or IPO could have an impact
on ooVoo LLC, which is owned by a Dayton-based private equity group
owned by the family of billionaire Clay Mathile.
ooVoo is based in New York and has a service office in Atlanta and a
research and development site in Israel.
Currently, ooVoo has 24 million registered users, up 4 million at the
end of 2010. The latest number includes Desktop and Android Mobile new
user registrations.
In December, ooVoo Mobile launched on the Android platform.
Skype had an average of 124 million users per month during the second
quarter of 2010, but ooVoo has been seeking to gain ground on Skype as
it invests heavily in mobile and other technologies.
John Sailors of the San Francisco Business Times contributed to this
report.
Read it with links at Dayton Business Journal
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