eBay Officially Sells Skype to Investors

Skype's definitely not been shy amongst the news sites lately, and it looks like the rumors of an impending sale came true today. eBay has officially sold Skype to an investor group, compromised of several governing bodies. And while many could have imagined that Skype was worth a pretty penny, the staggering number that the deal has valued the VoIP application at is amazing. And it looks like it's a win-win situation for everyone.

The investor group is lead by Silver Lake, and includes bodies such as Index Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, and the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) Investment Board. eBay still keeps a 35% stake in Skype, and eBay is expected to receive approximately $1.9 billion in cash upon the completion of the deal. Plus, a note from the buyer in the principal amount of $125 million. John Donahoe, President and CEO of eBay Inc. said, "This is a great deal, unlocking both immediate and long-term value for eBay and tremendous potential for Skype. We've acted decisively on a deal that delivers a high valuation, gives us significant cash up-front and lets us retain a meaningful minority stake with talented partners."

Commenting, Egon Durban, managing director at Silver Lake, said, "Skype is an innovative, next-generation company that has changed how people and businesses communicate with each other. This transaction benefits all parties involved and will allow Skype the opportunity to accelerate the growth of its business by harnessing the deep technological and company development expertise that resides within the investor group."

So Skype has a new home, so what will it mean for the end-user? When something like this happens, it usually leads to some kind of change. Will it be more of a business model transformation, or will we find ourselves looking at entirely different interface before too long? Only time will tell, but if this is as good a deal as we are being told, then it's only looking great for the VoIP giant.

[via I4U]