eBay Finally Closes Skype Deal
eBay has officially sold Skype.
Announced yesterday via the Skype blog, the deal values the VoIP company at a whopping $2.75 billion. TechCrunch reports that eBay received approximately $1.9 billion in cash and a note from the buyer in the principal amount of $125 million. The online auctioneer also retained an approximately 30 percent equity investment in Skype and purchased senior debt securities with a face value of $50 million as part of a Skype debt financing.
eBay's plan to sell Skype was first confirmed by the company in September when Skype president Josh Silverman announced that the VoIP company was being spun off from eBay and would once again operate as an independent company.
"A small group of venture capital funds have agreed with eBay to acquire a majority stake in Skype," Silverman said at the time. "The group is led by Silver Lake Partners, joined by Index and Andreessen Horowitz Ventures," he continued. "You may recognize some names – for example Danny Rimer and Mike Volpi (both at Index Ventures) who were some of the earliest Board members and supporters of Skype."
Silverman reiterated the news when he announced that the deal was finally all stitched up, adding, "Our journey continues: say hello to the future!"
eBay purchased the company in 2005, a move that boggled many at the time. And, in the four years that it owned Skype, eBay was criticized for doing very little with the online phone company. Do you think this is a good move for Skype? Let us know in the comments below!
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I'd say Skype is better off as it's own company. I've been using it myself, along with Skype Out, since 1.x and I've found it a great piece of software.
Of course I've mainly used it for voice-calls but as of late it's more and more been replacing my host of IM software as well.
As long as they dont start charging I'm whatever with it.
$2.75 billion! wow that's almost as much as the 3COM deal we saw earlier.
yeah why would a retail company buy a telecom company lol. idiots
I don't see how these types of companies ever make money.
I use skype like a fiend, let's see what happens with it next.
Me too. Based in Ireland and working for an American site, my phone bill was massive.
I've tried Skype several times as a phone replacement but it never works well enough. Maybe it's just this way in the UK. Every time I've tried using it to call abroad (i.e. Germany where I have relatives), they can't hear me due to it crackling or there's a really long delay. Even when I've used it in the UK to call landlines, there's always a noticeable delay and calls feel really disconnected and uncomfortable. I've tried it with the microphone in my webcam and speakers, I've tried it with a headset and I even tried it with a USB adapter for connecting a regular phone. I've tried purchasing higher tier Skype services such as a Skype-In number but still I've always been disappointed with the service. It isn't due to my ADSL line either, I connect at 12 MBps down and 1.3 MBps up and don't have any problems with any other service.
Free from ebay at last..
I've been using skype from its early v1.0 betas, I remember them having new releases and features every few weeks or so with cool new stuff, even been a first adopted of their paid services.. but ever since that ebay acquisition they just went completely wrong ways. SLOW development, useless features, never even bothered upgrading to v4.
So here's hoping that the old innovative guys at skype finally get back to doing what they know and straightening things out!
The original move by eBay (buying Skype in 2005) wasn't really smart in hindsight. However, eBay has managed to sell it back for roughly the same amount they had paid back in 2005 ($2.75 billion vs.$2.6 billion), which is an excellent move considering that at this point Skype is worth much less than that for eBay.
Besides, the timing is just right: remember that Google has just bought Gizmo5 and is probably planning to join Google Voice + Gizmo, which will become a serious competitor to Skype.
I'm not a fan of Skype. I don't like the proprietry protocol and not being able to link in with the services I have available. I prefer using SIP with my own equipment, the way I want.