If Google was hoping to control all the hallway chatter at this year’s Google IO, well, it looks like they’ve lost that bid. Perhaps, in fact, they’ve lost two, as the WSJ is reporting that Microsoft is about to close a deal to acquire Skype for a cool seven billion dollars. The deal apparently isn’t quite finalized yet, but if it goes through it’s going to leave more questions than answers for the Voice Over IP software.
Six months after Skype freed itself from the confines of Verizon exclusivity for mobile phones in the US, it’s become a fairly popular platform for Android. Will Microsoft allow it to continue on Android or any of the myriad other platforms Skype supports? We’re hoping and assuming yes – but the news itself is crazy enough that more craziness could well ensue. Stay tuned for what’s sure to be a wild ride.
UPDATE:
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) is close to an agreement to buy Skype Technologies SA for more than $7 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.
An accord may be announced as early as today though the deal may still fall apart, the Journal reported. The report said that representatives for Microsoft and Skype declined to comment.
The purchase amount would make Skype among Microsoft’s largest acquisitions in its 36-year history, the Journal reported. Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer sees the Internet as an essential battleground for Microsoft, which still makes the majority of its profits from Windows and Office software systems, the report said.
In 2007, Microsoft paid about $6 billion to buy online advertising firm aQuantive Inc. and gave up on an unsolicited $48 billion offer for Yahoo Inc. almost three years ago, the Journal reported. Yahoo is valued at half that sum today.