10 Biggest Tech Acquisitions in History

10. Microsoft buys Skype – $8.5 billion

Back in 2011, Microsoft purchased Skype, a VoIP company created in 2003 that made it possible for people to communicate with one another over the Internet, whether that was via instant messages, video chat or online calls.

Skype was released in 2003 and the first time any interest was shown by a foreign company into the tool was in 2005, when eBay acquired it for $2.6 billion. Four years later, Silver Lake, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Andreessen Horowitz bought 65% of Skype, paying $1.9 billion to eBay in the process.

In 2011, Microsoft stepped in and paid $8.5 billion in the process, with the VoIP tool becoming one of the biggest tools in Microsoft’s arsenal. At the time, Microsoft was looking into making a big move into the IP communications area, although it was also particularly interested in the peer-to-peer video chat option that came with the software.

Nowadays, Skype is one of the most used tools of its kind on the market, not only for personal conversations, but also for business calls and much more. This acquisition was definitely a success.

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