eBay sells off Skype
This could be good news for Costa Rican Skype users.
Mega online retailer, EBay Inc. is trading control of the online telecommunications service Skype for about $2 billion, reversing a 2005 acquisition that many analysts considered a head scratcher from the beginning.
The company famous for its online marketplace said Tuesday it is selling a 65 percent stake in the business to a group of private investment funds for $1.9 billion in cash and a $125 million note, while retaining a 35 percent stake. EBay said the deal values the company at $2.75 billion.
EBay said earlier this year that it would spin off Skype, which lets people make free or cheap voice and video calls on computers and cell phones, after struggling to justify its 2005 acquisition of the company for $2.6 billion.
EBay hoped the service would catch on with users of its auction site, but it never became a popular way for buyers and sellers to connect. The company took a $900 million write-down on Skype in 2007, tacitly acknowledging it had overvalued the business.
Still, Skype itself remains popular, particularly among people who regularly make international calls as Costa Rica businesses and personal use has done.
The group of investors buying the stake includes Andreessen Horowitz, the new $300 million fund set up by Web browser pioneer Marc Andreessen. Led by the private equity firm Silver Lake, the group also includes Index Ventures and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
EBay expects the deal to close in the fourth quarter of this year.
What does this mean for Costa Rica?
Well with new investments, it might clear the way (or probaly add needed capital to defend) a lawsuit that jeopardize Costa Rica Skype Users … and that is a good thing.
Source: Yahoo News
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