Microsoft in talks to buy Skype

[shakirmoledina]

Microsoft is in talks to buy internet phone service Skype, the Wall Street Journal has reported.

According to the paper, the deal could be worth as much as $8.5bn (£5.2bn), which would make it Microsoft's largest acquisition.

Both Microsoft and Skype have declined to comment on the story.

Luxembourg-based Skype has 663 million global users. In August last year it announced plans for a share flotation, but this was subsequently put on hold.

Internet auction house eBay bought Skype for $2.6bn in 2006, before selling 70% of it in 2009 for $2bn.

Skype is now majority-owned by a group of investors, led by private equity firms Silver Lake and Andreessen Horowitz

I say keep it free.

Source

 

[RupeeClock]

Please don't, MSN/Live messenger is bloated as shit.

 

[Heran Bago]

eBay didn't know what to do with it, but Microsoft just might.

 

[Ikki]

Omg please don't.

 

[naved.islam14]

OMG *SIGH!* WTF! I just know they will mess Skype up.

BTW: I just read this on CNET.

 

[Eckin]

Please don't, MSN/Live messenger is bloated as shit.

this, so bad

 

[Panzer Tacticer]

ICQ was great, then it got bought, and promptly ruined.

I see Skype dying rather suddenly after being purchased.

Makes you wonder why MS is interested as the above is so likely.

I'd guess they are just wanting to kill it off for the tune of 8 billion.

 

[chartube12]

Maybe Microsoft will give unlimited calling to non-skype lines for xbox/microlive gold users.

 

[Eckin]

MicrosoftQUOTE(chartube12 @ May 10 2011, 09:02 AM) free

 

[AlanJohn]

No please

I love skype

 

[iceissocold]

Do any of you actually have a valid reason for not wanting Microsoft to acquire Skype? I don't see an issue here and they could bring it to Xbox360 and see the service really take off.

 

[Snailface]

Awww . . . It's nice to see our cute little Microsofty getting its proper nutrients. Bon Appetite!

 

[Zorua]

NOOOOOOOO!
Microsoft Points for calling people!
Expensive shit!

Skype's gonna go down the drain if m$ acquires it.

No, please no, leave them alone, Microsoft!

 

[SamAsh07]

Let's sue Microsoft, hackers get them!! They mustn't get their filthy hands on Skype!!
Skype is my favorite program to call my fiancee, and if it goes to Microsoft...it'll just....die .-. like the fail piece of crap MSN.

 

[heartgold]

Well it was nice while it lasted

 

[FAST6191]

I have no great love for Skype's legal department and by extension Skype as a whole.

Equally it is not like VOIP is hard to do even if MS do hose it up something wicked- there are many great alternative programs/services just that they are by and large squaring off against the monolith that is Skype- for reference
How many of you still use
AOL
AOL messenger
MSN messenger
Myspace
ICQ

Every one of those was dubbed "too big to fail" as it were and aside from MSN messenger or whatever it calls itself nowadays they have all taken a backseat compared to current protocols. History has loads of examples of this at every level (Sun, Sega, Dell to an extent, yahoo, Blockbuster, Xerox, Kodak and I could go on).

*wanders off humming "circle of life tech".*

 

[Deleted member 473940]

Cheap skype calls!*
*1 Cent per minute from Skype to skype only. Terms and conditions apply.

I see this happening lol.

 

[Warrior522]

SONOFABITCH

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICCCCCCCCCCCCCRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTTTTT
TTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!

(seriously, anyone know of any good cross-platform alternatives?)

 

[PettingZoo]

they've made the deal already

 

[Raiser]

they've made the deal already

Yes it looks like it actually just happened.

http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/press/2...CorpNewsPR.mspx