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Story URL: http://www.silicon.com/research/specialreports/voip/0,3800004463,39151147,00.htm

Rupert Murdoch had his eye on Skype
But takeover talks caved in, says newspaper

By Reuters

Published: Monday 08 August 2005

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch's News Corp is understood to have held talks with Skype to buy the internet telecommunications software provider for around $3bn but the talks broke down, according to The Independent on Sunday.

The newspaper, citing unnamed well-placed sources, said the talks between Skype and News Corp fell apart last month, just before Murdoch's son Lachlan quit his father's empire.

The paper said privately held, Luxembourg-based Skype had denied it was for sale but industry sources had said they expected the company to be taken over shortly.

Executives at News Corp and Skype were not immediately available for comment.

Operated out of London, Skype was founded by Niklas Zennström - a Swedish businessman who also co-founded Kazaa, the file-sharing software provider and rival of Napster which enables people to download music from the internet for free.

Skype's free software allows users to make internet-based calls worldwide at no cost and is seen as a threat to traditional telephone companies. The company's free software is used by more than 42 million users, with 150,000 new users signing up daily.