 |
Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: “MSFT”) and Skype Global S.à r.l today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Microsoft will acquire Skype, the leading Internet communications company, for $8.5 billion in cash from the investor group led by Silver Lake. The agreement has been approved by the boards of directors of both Microsoft and Skype.
The acquisition will increase the accessibility of real-time video and voice communications, bringing benefits to both consumers and enterprise users and generating significant new business and revenue opportunities. The combination will extend Skype’s world-class brand and the reach of its networked platform, while enhancing Microsoft’s existing portfolio of real-time communications products and services.
…
Skype will support Microsoft devices like Xbox and Kinect, Windows Phone and a wide array of Windows devices, and Microsoft will connect Skype users with Lync, Outlook, Xbox Live and other communities. Microsoft will continue to invest in and support Skype clients on non-Microsoft platforms.
…
Skype will become a new business division within Microsoft, and Skype CEO Tony Bates will assume the title of president of the Microsoft Skype Division, reporting directly to Ballmer.
…
The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The parties hope to obtain all required regulatory clearances during the course of this calendar year.
Om Malik has some perspective on why Skype’s owners were anxious for it to be sold and suggests that if Microsoft does not botch the acquisition, the big winner could be Facebook (who already has a relationship with Microsoft) and that a joint announcement could be expected shortly. Still, the big question is how the acquisition will work out, including how much of the Skype team will stay with Microsoft and the basic economics of the Skype service which has already suffered through a failed acquisition by eBay:
Despite its popularity, the service has struggled to maintain profitability. Since most of its services are free, Skype makes much of its income from a small group of users who pay for long distance calls to telephone numbers. In 2010, Skype recorded $859.8 million in revenue but reported a net loss of $7 million, according to a filing.
Microsoft’s deal-making history is mixed. The company has often been an smart acquirer of start-ups and smaller companies, analysts say, picking off technical teams that are then folded into products likes Windows, Office and Internet Explorer. But during Mr. Ballmer’s tenure as chief executive, beginning in 2000, the company has also made far larger, riskier bids, most of which have been viewed as unsuccessful.
…
In 2005, eBay bought Skype for $2.6 billion with hopes of tightly integrating the service as a sales tool. But the deal never lived up to its promise and eBay took a $1.4 billion write-down on its investment.
I’m frankly a bit dubious about the success or at least profitability of this acquisition since Skype doesn’t even seem to be a side dish, but more of a garnish on Microsoft’s plate and a very expensive garnish at that.
Microsoft today announced a major shakeup in the continually troubled Entertainment and Devices Division via a letter from Steve Ballmer to employees:
Robbie Bach and J Allard, founding fathers of Microsoft’s Entertainment & Devices Division, are leaving the company as part of a broader restructuring that will give CEO Steve Ballmer more direct oversight of consumer businesses including Microsoft’s struggling mobile unit.
The changes — a major management reorganization, even by Microsoft’s standards — will reshape the division leading the company’s battles against Google, Apple, Sony, Nintendo and other rivals in the hard-fought consumer technology market.
Bach, 48, president of the division since its inception five years ago, isn’t slated to be replaced. That will effectively dissolve the division’s current structure and leave the existing Xbox and Windows Mobile leaders to report to Ballmer starting in July.
….
Microsoft is describing Bach’s departure as a retirement. He said the decision was his own, and he wasn’t encouraged to leave. He’ll remain at Microsoft through the fall, to ensure a smooth transition.
…
Speaking with TechFlash, Allard said his decision was unrelated to the recent cancelation of the "Courier" dual-screen tablet project that he had championed inside the company. Allard said he doesn’t plan to work for Apple, Google or any other Microsoft rivals. After 19 years at the company, he said, he wants to devote more time to his personal interests, particularly adventure sports.
…
The separation of the Windows Mobile unit from the current Entertainment & Devices reporting structure also reflects the company’s efforts to connect its mobile initiatives with a wider range of products, including its online services and traditional software.
Don Mattrick, the senior vice president in charge of Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business, will report directly to Ballmer as part of the management changes, as will Andy Lees, the senior vice president who leads the Mobile Communications Business.
Mary Jo Foley also notes some other changes:
Windows Web Services is born. Antoine Leblond, who has been Senior Vice President of the Office Productivity Applications Group, is moving to a new role: Senior Vice President for the Windows Web Services team. What is Windows Web Services? Good question. CEO Steve Ballmer’s e-mail describes it as “integral Windows services that today deliver updates, solutions, community and depth information for the Windows consumer.” Leblond will be reporting directly to Windows/Windows Live President Steven Sinofsky.
Office gets a new engineering chief. Kurt DelBene, Senior Vice President of the Office Business Productivity Group, is now head of all of the engineering responsibilities for the Office business.
Former Live Platform Services head David Treadwell moves out of the Windows division and into the Interactive Entertainment Business (the part of Microsoft that oversees Xbox and video games).
Xbox has finally started making money after the billions poured into it, but the Windows Mobile story was acknowledged even by Microsoft to be a vast missed opportunity verging on a disaster. Microsoft doesn’t like to lose markets where they used to have a commanding presence. The other entertainment products are yawners (e.g. Zune), but Mac Office is still a money maker and customers still love Microsoft keyboards and mice. Unfortunately they are the smallest and least visible part of the E&D menagerie.
Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer and Robbie Bach delivered the keynote last night at the 2010 Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas and it was the usual mixture of self-congratulatory boosterism and product and technology demos. Here is my list of highlights:
Windows 7
After a report on how well Windows 7 is selling, there were the PC demos including a prototype Hewlett-Packard slate PC that the technical press was pining for.
It looks like a touch enabled netbook to me and while it may have a niche, I suspect I would be screaming for a keyboard (or at least a stylus) in under a minute of usage. Perhaps more interesting were the ultrathin Lenovo A300 laptop with a 21.5" screen and the Sony VAIO home entertainment notebook with a 24" screen. How big does a laptop have to get before it becomes a single element desktop?
Bing
HP is making Bing the default Web search engine and MSN the default home page on all their PCs in 42 countries.
Xbox
Ballmer put the usual lipstick on this pig and Robbie Bach appeared later to flog upcoming games (including another lucrative Halo version) and tout Project Natal, the motion sensing technology that will appear later this year to replace the standard controllers for some games.
Windows Mobile
Zzzzzz.
Mediaroom 2.0
Bach also announced Mediaroom 2.0, the latest version of Microsoft’s IPTV offering for service providers which now supports PCs and smartphoes as well as set top boxes and Xbox consoles for TV viewing.
Summary
Microsoft really did not have much of its own to show again this year. I am almost beginning to miss the goofy Bill Gates future technology skits.
Yesterday, Microsoft unveiled the much rumored Zune HD or at least what little they are willing to say until next week’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) conference:
Microsoft Corp. today announced the evolution of Zune, the company’s end-to-end music and entertainment service, to a new platform and new markets. Zune will extend its video service to Xbox LIVE internationally this fall. This marks an important development in the Zune strategy and brings the Zune brand to more than 17 million international Xbox LIVE subscribers. In addition, Microsoft confirmed the next generation of the Zune portable media player, Zune HD. Available in the U.S. this fall, Zune HD is the first portable media player that combines a built-in HD Radio receiver, high-definition (HD) video output capabilities, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) touch screen, Wi-Fi and an Internet browser.
Gizmodo fills in some of the blanks based on conversations with Microsft’s PR crew:
The flash-based Zune HD features a new industrial look compared to the line’s earlier understated matte style, and is the first to feature a touchscreen: In this case, it’s a 3.3" 16:9 widescreen capacitive OLED with multitouch, packing a resolution of 480×272. The "HD" badging comes from the inclusion of HD radio and HD (720p) video-out, though the latter is available only with an optional docking station. The Zune HD will thus be the world’s first portable media player to include HD radio, which offers song and artist info and far better sound quality than traditional radio. It’ll also include an accelerometer, which is pretty much standard at this point.
Wi-Fi has always been a part of the Zune brand (however half-assedly implemented), and the Zune HD might be the first Zune that actually encourages its owners to keep that battery-sucking Wi-Fi turned on. Yes, the Zune HD will feature multitouch browsing, using a portable browser based on Internet Explorer. We’ll do our best to reserve judgment on that last part.
The other big news is a refocus on Zune integration with the Xbox environment, as the Zune’s video (though not music, yet) marketplace will replace the current Xbox Live version. Microsoft reps were pretty tight-lipped on the subject, but come E3, they’ll enlighten us with the details of the redesign.
Other tidbits: The Zune Marketplace is set to cross oceans, coming to several western European countries and, finally, Canada.
No information has been released on capacity, pricing and release date other than "early fall." I’ll reserve judgment until all the details are in, but so far I am not particularly impressed which is not an uncommon reaction (eg. ParisLemon).
Update from Harry McCracken:
Does this mean the end of the current Zune line? Actually, Microsoft did answer this one: It’ll retire the current iPod Nano-like flash Zune models, but keep the hard-drive based ones on the market.
