Five-months after first being announced, Microsoft closed its acquisition of Skype for $8.5 billion. A couple of interesting points from the Press Release:

Skype CEO Tony Bates will assume the title of president of the Skype Division of Microsoft immediately, reporting directly to Ballmer.

[…]

The acquisition remains under review in a few countries, and will be completed in those countries when such reviews are closed.

I can only hope Skype’s new owner puts the breaks on ads playing while on a call. The ad bar at the bottom doesn’t bother me on the iPad, but if my call is interrupted mid-way with an in-call audio/video ad, I will be forced to retire my Skype account.