September 3, 2009

Ebay sells stake in Skype

Just a few words about eBay's - the worldwide leading auction marketplace - sale of a 65% stake in Skype to a number of VC firms and private investors for around $1.9bn (which values the company at around $2.75bn, slightly less from the $3.1bn that eBay paid in 2005. So, not a great investment for eBay.

I do love Skype, it is an amazing tool. It helps me keep in touch with my friends overseas (mostly in the US and beyond) at a very reasonable price. Yeap, I am a premium user and I have my monthly plan with which I can make unlimited calls to cells and home lines in the US.

But I have never seen much fit between eBay and Skype. It is a kind of obvious statement, I guess. I love eBay too but what is the point? I am sure that the money that comes in will be useful in improving the current service and, who knows, maybe  in taking Paypal (eBay's payment platform, which is becoming increasingly relevant for eBay) to a new level, which makes much more sense to me.

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