Tech giant Microsoft has smacked down and beaten out Facebook, Google, and Cisco to buy internet telephone service Skype, more than doubling the offer made by Facebook last week. Bill Gates's company will pay 8 and a half billion dollars for the free voice and video calling service. Insiders say the deal represents a major attempt to increase growth at the 36-year-old company.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says the the biggest deal in the company's history will allow it to "be more ambitious, do more things." Well that's one way to put it... :)
Experts say that buying Skype allows Microsoft to becoming a much bigger player in mobile communications and social networking. That's important because the bread-and-butter businesses, like the MS Windows operating system and client-side business software, are showing strong signs of slowing down.
No matter what, this is probably a huge gamble by Microsoft and its executives. Skype has yet to prove that it can be highly profitable by simply providing free and ultra-cheap VoIP phone and video calling services. Many think that the long term goal is to integrate Skype voice communication functionality into nearly all of the company's products, including Xbox video gaming and its MS Office software suite.
Learn some mo': Microsoft Pays $8.5 Billion for Internet-Phone Firm Skype
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