经济学人下载:微软天价收购Skype

Microsoft's gamble

微软的赌博

A big phone bill

微软天价收购Skype

The price that Microsoft is paying for Skype looks high

微软将向Skype支付天价收购金

May 12th 2011 | SAN FRANCISCO | from The Economist print edition

STEVE BALLMER was his usual effervescent self on stage at a press conference in San Francisco this week. Announcing an $8.5 billion purchase of Skype, an internet calling and video service, the boss of Microsoft kept boasting about how “super-ambitious” his company is. The firm’s largest-ever acquisition is proof that Microsoft is indeed willing to place big bets on what it considers to be revolutionary technologies. It also represents a significant victory for some bold technology investors.

本周在旧金山举办的一场新闻发布会现场，微软CEO史蒂夫??鲍尔默(Steve Ballmer)一如既往的兴高采烈。他宣布微软将以85亿美元的价格收购网络电话及视频服务公司Skype，并不断吹嘘他的公司是多么得“志向远大”。这起该公司史上最大的收购案证明微软确实意图在它认为的革新性科技上投下大笔赌注，也代表着一些具有冒险精神的科技投资者的重大胜利。

Much ink has been spilled on the subject of Skype’s price tag, 400 times the company’s 2010 operating profit. Microsoft claims that this lofty sum is justified because Skype can leverage its new parent’s various platforms, including the Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system and the Xbox gaming platform, to create exciting new services for the 170m customers that use it regularly. It can also take advantage of Microsoft’s substantial presence in the world of corporate computing to win more business there. Microsoft says it will fit neatly with its popular Lync offering, which combines various communications tools such as video chatting and web conferencing in a single package.

大幅笔墨都用在85亿美元的标价上，因为这是Skype2010年营业利润的整整400倍。微软宣称这笔巨额标价是合理的，因为Skype使它新的母公司的多种平台得以改变，包括Wp7移动操作系统和Xbox游戏平台，进而为1.7亿它们的常规用户提供令人激动的新服务。同时也能充分利用微软在企业计算领域的重要地位在这方面赢得更多的生意。微软说Skype能与今年推出的Lync企业沟通平台极好地结合，后者把包括视频会话和网络会议在内的多种沟通工具融合进一个单一的软件包中。