EBay Sells Skype, Keeps 35% Stake |
| BusinessWeek - Sep 1, 2009 |
In a deal announced Tuesday morning, eBay has agreed to sell Internet calling service Skype to a group of investors which includes private equity firm Silver Lake, Index Ventures, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and Andreessen Horowitz, the venture capital fund launched by eBay board member Marc Andreessen earlier this year.
The deal, which the New York Times first reported, values Skype at around $2.75 billion. EBay will get $1.9 billion upfront in cash, around $125 million in short-term debt, and will retain a 35% stake in the company. The San Jose company purchased Skype in 2005 for $3.1 billion, but later wrote down $900 million of that investment.
Though the voice-over-Internet service added a high-growth business to eBay, generating $526 million in revenues and adding 129 million users last year, investors and analysts criticized its incompatibility with the company’s online auction and payments businesses. In April, eBay announced its plans to spin off Skype in an initial public offering in 2010 — a move that likely brought its eventual buyers to the negotiating table.
Read Full Article from BusinessWeek
- Posted: 2009-09-01 11:31:48
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