Microsoft Buys Skype for $8.5 Billion
Microsoft agreed to buy Skype for $8.5 billion, acquire 170 million active users, The takeover may help lure Skype users to Microsoft’s phones and software and narrow Google Inc. lead in Internet advertising. Microsoft will connect Skype to its Outlook e-mail, Xbox game console, Windows mobile phones and corporate-phone software. The acquisition is also the biggest Internet takeover in more than a decade.