US tech giant Microsoft has completed its US$8.5bn acquisition of the VoIP operator Skype.
In a statement, the companies said that the acquisition is still under review “in a few countries”, and will be completed in those countries when the…
US tech giant Microsoft has completed its US$8.5bn acquisition of the VoIP operator Skype.
In a statement, the companies said that the acquisition is still under review “in a few countries”, and will be completed in those countries when the reviewing process has closed.
The selling investor group was led by the US-based PE firm Silver Lake. The other sellers were Andreesen Horowitz, CPP Investment Board, eBay International and Joltid Ltd in partnership with Euro Capital Advisors.
The acquisition was approved by the European Commission last Friday and by US antitrust officials at the Federal Trade Commission in June.
The companies said that the completion of the deal also marked the introduction of Skype as a business division within Microsoft. Skype’s CEO, Tony Bates, will now become president of this Skype division.
It said that in the longer term, Skype will be integrated across a range of Microsoft products.
Bates said that the companies would be able to accelerate Skype’s goal to reach one billion users daily.
“By bringing together the best of Microsoft and the best of Skype, we are committed to empowering consumers and businesses around the globe to connect in new ways,” Bates said.
