Posts Tagged ‘Tony Bates’

Zuckerberg on Google+: It’s a Validation of Facebook’s Vision

Published by pratyushkp on July 7th, 2011 - in Social, Technology

Image via CrunchBase

What does Mark Zuckerberg think of Google+, the search giant’s new social network?

We were curious, so we asked Zuckerberg two questions at Facebook’s video chat event in Palo Alto, California: Will there be group video chat in the future? And what does he think of Google+ Hangouts, Google’s new group video chat feature?

On the first question, Zuckerberg simply said that he “wouldn’t rule out anything,” but argued that we shouldn’t knock the value of one-on-one video chat, especially with a platform as large as Facebook. He also used the opportunity to make it clear that the partnership with Skype has been going on for a long time, even before Tony Bates became the CEO of Skype. “We’ve been working with Skype for a while,” he told the audience.

Facebook’s CEO danced around the second question. He reiterated his key talking point: that the next five years are about building apps on top of the social infrastructure that has been built during the past five years. Zuckerberg predicts that a lot of companies that haven’t traditionally looked at social networking will be focused on integrating it into their apps. He cited Netflix as one example, and was clearly alluding to Google as another.

Microsoft Acquires Skype for $8.5 Billion

Published by pratyushkp on May 10th, 2011 - in Social, Technology
Image representing Skype as depicted in CrunchBase

Image via CrunchBase

After rumors that first Facebook and then Microsoft were in talks to acquire Skype, the latter announced that it has acquired the VoIP giant for $8.5 billion in cash.

Skype will be integrated into Microsoft devices and systems such as Xbox and Kinect, Xbox Live, the Windows Phone, Lync and Outlook, Microsoft said in a statement. The company has pledged to continue supporting and developing Skype clients on non-Microsoft platforms as well.

The deal, which was spearheaded by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer with assistance from Charles Songhurst, the company’s head of corporate corporate strategy, was completed Monday evening, AllThingsD reported earlier.

The acquisition is an expensive one for Microsoft. Not only is it the largest price Microsoft has paid for a company in decades, Skype is not yet profitable. Despite revenues totaling $860 million last year and operating profits of $264 million, the company lost $6.9 million overall, according to documents filed with the SEC. And the company carries $686 million in debt.

Much of the company’s appeal rests in its largest user base of 663 million, 145 of which use Skype monthly (Update: Microsoft says Skype has 170 million regular users), and 8.8 million of which are paying customers.

There is one clear set of winners here: Skype’s investors. A group including Silver Lake, Index Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz and the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) Investment Board purchased the company from eBay for $2.75 billion in September 2009.

In August, Skype filed for an IPO but put plans on hold after Tony Bates joined the company as CEO in October. Bates will take on the title of president of the Microsoft Skype Division and report directly to Ballmer.

Source -: http://mashable.com

  • Microsoft confirms purchase of Skype for $8.5 billion (winrumors.com)
  • It’s Official: Microsoft Acquires Skype For $8.5 Billion In Cash (paidcontent.org)
  • Microsoft Plans to Buy Skype for $8.5 Billion (pamil-visions.net)
  • Why Microsoft Is Buying Skype for $8.5 Billion [Voices] (voices.allthingsd.com)
  • Microsoft Buys Skype, Facebook Wins… (bigthink.com)
  • Microsoft to acquire Skype (microsoft.com)
  • Microsoft to Acquire Skype for Over $8 Billion (slashgear.com)
  • Microsoft Can Take Skype to The Next Level: Mobile & Living Room (readwriteweb.com)
  • Microsoft Making Company’s Biggest Acquisition: Skype (searchenginewatch.com)
  • Microsoft buys Skype for $US8.5bn (theinformativereport.com)
Tags: , Index Ventures, , , , , Voice over IP,
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