$8.5 billion deal allows Windows maker to branch out into video-conferencing
Microsoft has agreed to buy Skype, the popular Internet phone service, for $8.5 billion. The move will give Microsoft a potentially lucrative toehold in the video-conferencing market, especially if Skype’s technology gains widespread adoption in businesses. But the acquisition came at a high price for the maker of Office and Windows. The $8.5 billion price tag is more than twice as high as the $3 billion to $4 billion valuation Skype had been estimated to garner from other deals.