Microsoft wants the money!

After weeks of speculation, Microsoft announced this morning that it bought Skype for a staggering $8.5 billion. While Skype lost $6.9 million last year and is in $686 million of debt according to their SEC filings, Microsoft was reportedly attracted to the company's loyal 663 million user base, $8.8 million of who pay for the service. Skype will be thrown into the Microsoft systems mix which includes Xbox, Kinect, and Outlook. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer headed up the deal, which closed on Monday night.