Microsoft is buying VoIP pioneer Skype for $8.5bn (£5.2bn). Microsoft says the acquisition will increase the accessibility of real-time video and voice communications, extending Skype’s brand and the reach of its networked platform, while enhancing Microsoft’s existing portfolio of real-time communications products and services. In 2010, Skype had 170m users and clocked up over 207bn minutes of voice and video conversations.
Skype was founded in 2003 and bought by eBay for $2.6bn in 2006. In 2009, eBay sold 70 per cent of the firm for $2bn to a group of investors led by private equity firms Silver Lake and Andreessen Horowit.
“Skype is a phenomenal service that is loved by millions of people around the world,” says Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer. “Together, we will create the future of real-time communications so people can easily stay connected to family, friends, clients and colleagues anywhere in the world.” 
Skype will become a new business division within Microsoft, with Skype CEO Tony Bates assuming the title of president of the Microsoft Skype Division, reporting directly to Ballmer.
