What has it done to deserve this?
By Dave Neal
THE RUMOUR MILL is in overdrive with suggestions that Microsoft is poised to buy Skype, the voice over internet protocol (VoIP), text and video communications company.
The Wall Street Journal is where this story started, and it seems convinced about the deal.
According to US financial newspaper, which has no confirmation from either party, the deal could cost Microsoft £5.2bn, which would make Skype its biggest acquisition ever.
WSJ sources reckoned that the deal could be announced tomorrow, and maybe it will be. This would not be the first time that Skype has changed hands, as it was bought by Ebay several years ago, which then sold off a large chunk of it to a group of private investors.
In 2006 Ebay paid $3.5bn for Skype, less than half as much as Microsoft might have to splash out, but Ebay never really made much of it and eventually parted with a majority share a couple of years down the line for $1.9bn.
Currently around 70 per cent of Skype belongs to a group of technology investors. Perhaps these benevolent souls will go easy on Microsoft, a firm whose products they most likely use every day, and not ask for too high a price.
Or more likely, perhaps they will not.
Article Source
By Dave Neal
THE RUMOUR MILL is in overdrive with suggestions that Microsoft is poised to buy Skype, the voice over internet protocol (VoIP), text and video communications company.
The Wall Street Journal is where this story started, and it seems convinced about the deal.
According to US financial newspaper, which has no confirmation from either party, the deal could cost Microsoft £5.2bn, which would make Skype its biggest acquisition ever.
WSJ sources reckoned that the deal could be announced tomorrow, and maybe it will be. This would not be the first time that Skype has changed hands, as it was bought by Ebay several years ago, which then sold off a large chunk of it to a group of private investors.
In 2006 Ebay paid $3.5bn for Skype, less than half as much as Microsoft might have to splash out, but Ebay never really made much of it and eventually parted with a majority share a couple of years down the line for $1.9bn.
Currently around 70 per cent of Skype belongs to a group of technology investors. Perhaps these benevolent souls will go easy on Microsoft, a firm whose products they most likely use every day, and not ask for too high a price.
Or more likely, perhaps they will not.
Article Source
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