Microsoft has completed its acquisition of Skype

Microsoft has completed its acquisition of Skype. The company will continue to operate as a division of Microsoft and its services will be integrated into Microsoft products, the U.S. software company said Friday.

Microsoft paid $ 8,5 billion for the Internet-based phone service business. This is a much larger amount than the previous owners of Skype paid for the Luxembourg-based company. The acquisition of Skype is also the largest acquisition in Microsoft's history.

According to the new owner, the competition investigation into the transaction is still ongoing in some countries. Skype has already been approved for use in the United States and the European Union.

According to the announcement, Tony Bates, CEO of Skype, will continue as chairman of Microsoft’s Skype division. Skype services are available unchanged and, in the longer term, will be integrated into Microsoft products.

Skype was developed by Niklas Zennström of Sweden and Janus Friis of Denmark, and the business was launched in 2003. In 2005, it was bought up by eBay’s U.S. auction portal operator for $ 2,6 billion, experts say, to make it easier for sellers and buyers to stay in touch. The calculation didn’t work out, so in 2009 eBay sold a 70 percent stake in Skype to a group of investors. Microsoft announced in May 2011 that it would acquire the company.

Most Skype services are free, with revenue coming from phone calls. The company thus made little profit in its eight-year history. In 2010, with net sales of $ 860 million and operating income of $ 264 million, it posted a net loss of $ 7 million, with long-term debt at $ 686 million at the end of the year.

Source: MTI