Ebay has just announced it has completed the sale of Skype, valuing the company at $2.75 billion. The company received approximately $1.9 billion in cash and a note from the buyer in the principal amount of $125 million. The company also retained approximately 30 percent equity investment in Skype.
Skype, which allows users to make telephone calls over the internet, was purchased by the online auction pioneers in 2005 for $2.6 billion. The peer-to-peer Internet telephony network turned successful communication company boast 521 million and $185 million in quarterly revenue. Critics of the deal have charged Skype was hugely overpaid in the buyout, perhaps in part due to an unsuccessful integration of Skype's core technology to eBay's platform.
On September 1, 2009, a group of investors led by Silver Lake bought 70 percent of Skype for $1.9 billion with Skype founders Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis owning 14% of the 70.
This comes on the heels of very public disputes between Skype and eBay regarding some technology licensing and just two weeks ago they reached a settlement which included the 14% stake, board seats and allowed Skype to retain ownership of its technology.
Now the only question that remains, where will Skype go on its own?
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