Why Microsoft’s Skype Purchase Means A Face-Off With Apple’s Facetime

Microsoft's purchase of Skype for $8.5 billion in cash is a massive bet for the tech giant. Although it look like it may well have over-paid by $4.5 billion , and bid against companies who weren't seriously in the running (Google and Facebook), owning Skype means Microsoft has a much better positioning in mobile. But that's not all. The implications of this deal for Facebook are actually far more interesting. Since Microsoft is an investor in Facebook, the latter will now have deep access to its investor's assets.