San Francisco, May 11: Microsoft is on the verge of buying Internet phone service Skype for 8.5 billion dollars.
It would be the biggest deal in the world’s largest software company’s the 36-year history.
During a news conference in San Francisco, Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer announced the all-cash deal and outlined grand plans to bring the technology to a wider audience of consumers and business customers.
“By bringing together the best of Microsoft and the best of Skype, we will empower people around the world with new technologies that should bring them closer together,” The Daily Mail quoted Ballmer, as saying.
For users, the deal means Microsoft will integrate Skype into its array of corporate and home entertainment products.
The company said that Skype would support Xbox and Kinect, which could make for an interactive gaming experience that would link up players across the world.
Skype is also multi-platform, meaning it can reach into the world of Apple and can be paired with Windows Phone 7.
Skype was created in 2003 by Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, the software developers who also created the file-sharing network Kazaa.
They had sold the Internet phone service in 2006 to eBay for 2.6 billion dollars.
—Agencies