Skype Deal Finally Completed and Worth $2.75 Billion
So much has happened in the last few months with regards to Skype. eBay which bought Skype for $2.6 million back in 2005 has finally settled its litigation with Skype’s founders, and now the sale and restructure has been finalised.
The result: Skype now owns all of its technology, the founders received 14% of Skype and two seats on the Board of Directors, eBay keeps 30% of Skype, and the rest is owned by outside investors.
1. eBay now owns 30% of Skype, outside investors (including Silver Lake, Andreessen Horowitz, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board) own 70%.
2. 14% or so is owned by Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, the founders of Skype who have been added to the investor pool.
3. The Skype deal values the company at $2.75 billion, which is a little higher than the price eBay paid for Skype in 2005.
4. Joltid Limited is an investor in Skype. Joltid is owned by the Skype founders and was a major part of the legal dispute between eBay and the founders. The company held a key P2P technology that Skype now owns as part of this deal.
Thats the full recap on the new situation for Skype. Hopefully now Skype can move forward and start more innovations with their product.
