Microsoft has agreed to purchase Skype for $8.5 Billion dollars.
The sale is subject to regulatory approval. Microsoft expects approval by the end of this year.
This purchase will give the world's largest software maker a new conferencing platform.
Skype currently has 170 Million users worldwide. Microsoft believes it can attract hundreds of millions of additional users by integrating Skype with it's wide range of products such as Windows, Outlook, Microsoft Mobile and their XBox gaming systems.
Microsoft already has a product similar to Skype, in Windows Live. Skype has a much larger user base and works across platforms.
Microsoft could also incorporate Skype into it's business video conferencing software.
Skype to Skype calls are currently free and Skype to landline or cell phones are offered at a low cost.
This has allowed Skype to offer alternatives to traditional phone companies and offers a cost savings to its users. This has allowed Skype to become the largest provider of international calling services in the world.
This purchase by Microsoft is the largest in the company's 36 year history.
Skype was founded in 2003 by Scandinavian entrepreneurs Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom.
Before founding Skype, they created the file sharing program, Kazaa.
Allen Lowder 5/10/11
