Ebay Successfully Spins Off Skype For $1.9 Billion Cash
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[With Staci D. Kramer] After all the legal craziness, eBay (NSDQ: EBAY) has closed its deal to sell control of Skype to an investment group led by Silver Lake for $1.9 billion in cash and a $125 million note. The group acquiring 70 percent of Skype in the deal valued at $2.75 billion includes Skype cofounders Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis and their Joltid Limited, along with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Andreessen Horowitz. Ebay keeps a 30 percent stake in Skype, as well as $50 million worth of Skype’s debt financing and that note.
The deal was first announced in early September, but lawsuits by the co-founders put it at risk. As part of the settlement announced earlier this month, the cofounders dropped all litigation, including claims that the deal was based on stolen trade secrets, swapped the Global Index code that runs Skype and made a “significant capital investment” in exchange for 14 percent. The remaining investors hold 56 percent. The initial split was to be 65-35 so eBay ceded some of its stake to seal the deal. Release.
Posted In: Money, M&A & Venture Capital, Mergers & Acquisitions, ebay, skype
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