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Cisco Planning To Acquire Skype

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the can-you-see-me-now dept.

rexjoec writes "Cisco is making a bid for Skype. The deal, if successful, would derail a planned initial public offering from Skype and redraw the battle lines in the lucrative market of video communications." The rumored price is $5B.

4 of 148 comments (clear)

  1. Cisco Planning to Squash Another Competitor by wshs · · Score: 3, Insightful

    They do this with pretty much every company they buy. Psionic and Riverhead come to mind quickly for me. The only reason they kept the Linksys brand was because they had no competing product at the time.

    1. Re:Cisco Planning to Squash Another Competitor by pclminion · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Plus, American companies are shackled to the fact that they have to make a profit quarter per quarter, or shareholders can sue the company in the ground.

      And I have to make monthly mortgage payments or the bank will take my house away. See me complaining?

      If you don't want to be shackled by shareholders, don't trade your shares publicly. As a public company you are subject to the investing acumen and superstitions of the general public -- you're basically taking a loan from thousands of "John Smiths." And of course these people just want to see profitability in the short term.

      If I came in here bitching about losing my house because I couldn't keep my creditors happy, you'd tell me to grow up, and if I didn't want to be subject to their whims, maybe I should finance my home myself. But when the same thing happens to a corporation you pity the poor little corporation. Weird.

  2. Re:Not sure how I feel by jgagnon · · Score: 3, Insightful

    At least it wasn't Oracle... :p

    --
    Remember to maintain your supply of /facepalm oil to prevent chafing.
  3. Consider This..... by Atomm · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Cisco has a huge install base for business VoIP. Most of those businesses connect to land lines via traditional T-1 circuits. If Cisco integrated the Skype infrastructure with all those business customers, they could route calls over the Skype network bypassing the Telco's. From what I have seen, the average business long distance rate is 2-3 cents a minute. Cisco could charge 1 cent a minute and still make a fortune because they have such a large base of customers.

    Now, what if they did the same for International calling?

    I think it's going to move Skype away from Consumers and into the Business world where the real money is.

    --
    RTFG - Read The F#$%ing Google!