Microsoft announced that its acquisition of Skype, which was first announced five months ago, has been finalized. Microsoft revealed plans to purchase Skype way back in May of this year. At the time, the two companies said they hoped to obtain all the required regulatory clearances before the end of this calendar year, and it looks like they got their wish.
In a press release sent out Friday morning, Microsoft confirmed that it had closed the deal, and revealed that Skype CEO Tony Bates will now report directly to Steve Ballmer in his new role as president of the new Skype Division of Microsoft. Skype employees will continue to be located around the world in offices including Estonia, the Czech Republic, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the United States.
"Skype is a phenomenal product and brand that is loved by hundreds of millions of people around the world," said Steve Ballmer. "We look forward to working with the Skype team to create new ways for people to stay connected to family, friends, clients and colleagues — anytime, anywhere."
Speaking via a post on the Official Microsoft Blog, Tony Bates said:
"Joining forces with Microsoft is the best way to accelerate this mission and capitalize on our position at the intersection of social, mobile and video communications. Simply put, we want to transform communications. We will do this by building the best products in the world that allow all of us to do things together whenever we’re apart and by creating teams who work faster and smarter across the globe building those world-class products."
He also appeared in a special video uploaded to Microsoft's YouTube channel. Check it out below.