Just days after reports that Google and Facebook were interested in partnering with, and possibly buying VoIP company Skype, comes a claim from the Wall Street Journal that Microsoft is planning to buy the company for $7 billion, in a deal worth closer to $8 billion after Skype's debts are considered. This mirrors an earlier rumor of a Microsoft-Skype deal published by GigaOm. An annoucement could be made as early as Tuesday.
Update: It's now being confirmed by AllThingsD; a deal valued at around $8.5 billion, with a press release expected at 5 AM Pacific time.
Last year, Skype had revenue of $860 million on which it posted an operating profit of $264 million. However, it overall made a small loss, of $7 million, and had long-term debt of $686 million. A $7 billion purchase price would represent a huge premium over the $3-4 billion conjectured in the Facebook and Google deals.
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