Microsoft Buys Skype for $8.5 Billion

After much speculation, the Wall Street Journal today confirmed that Microsoft had closed a deal to buy Skype for $8.5 billion.

Internet phone and video calling service Skype was founded 2003 and was subsequently purchased by eBay in 2005. Since 2009, however, the firm has been owned by private investors. This web-based communication service boasts 124 million users per month, including 8 million paying subscribers. This doesn't necessarily make the firm profitable though, and with Skype reporting losses last year, many analysts are suggesting that Microsoft paid too much for the company.

Looking on the brighter side, this acquisition could lead to future compatibility between the world's two leading instant messaging and communications platforms—Windows Live Messenger and Skype—not to mention the effective integration of Skype services into Windows Mobile handsets.

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