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"Microsoft has confirmed reports of its $8.5 billion (\u00A35bn) purchase of internet phone service Skype, the biggest acquisition in the company&amp;#039;s 36-year history. According to Microsoft, the acquisition of Skype will &amp;quot;increase the accessibility of real-time video and voice communications&amp;quot;, and generate &amp;quot;significant new business and revenue opportunities&amp;quot;. Skype has 170 million connected users and handled more than 207 billion minutes of voice and video conversations last year.  The deal was approved by Microsoft and Skype&amp;#039;s board of directors this morning. The sellers include eBay, which had a 30% stake in the company, and private equity firms Silver Lake and Andreessen Horowitz, which together owned a 56% shareholding. Skype founders Niklas Zennstr\u00F6m and Janus Friis had a 14% stake. Skype will become a brand new business division within Microsoft, led by Skype chief executive Tony Bates under the title of president of the Microsoft Skype Division, reporting directly to Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer. Microsoft said that Skype will support its various devices, including the Xbox 360, Kinect and Windows Phone. The company will also connect Skype users with Lync, Outlook, Xbox Live and other digital communities.  Ballmer described Skype as a &amp;quot;phenomenal service that is loved by millions of people around the world&amp;quot;.  &amp;quot;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,&amp;quot; he said.  &amp;quot;Tony Bates has a great track record as a leader and will strengthen the Microsoft management team. I&amp;#039;m looking forward to Skype&amp;#039;s talented global workforce bringing its insights, ideas and experience to Microsoft.&amp;quot; Bates added: &amp;quot;Microsoft and Skype share the vision of bringing software innovation and products to our customers. Together, we will be able to accelerate Skype&amp;#039;s plans to extend our global community and introduce new ways for everyone to communicate and collaborate.&amp;quot; The acquisition is still subject to US regulatory approval, but the parties hope to obtain all required clearances by the end of 2011.  Skype, which uses voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology, has struggled to make a profit in the eight years since it was founded. Last year, the company posted revenue of $860 million, delivering $264m in operating profits, but still endured a loss of $7m. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/tech/news/a318778/microsoft-confirms-85bn-skype-deal/>