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| eBay reaches deal to sell Skype | eBay reaches deal to sell Skype |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Online auction site eBay has agreed to sell the majority of internet phone company Skype for about $2bn (£1.2bn). | |
| Skype is to be majority-owned by a group of private investors, including Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen and private equity firms. | Skype is to be majority-owned by a group of private investors, including Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen and private equity firms. |
| EBay will keep a 35% stake in the firm, which it has been trying to sell for some time. It has said that Skype had "limited synergies" with it. | EBay will keep a 35% stake in the firm, which it has been trying to sell for some time. It has said that Skype had "limited synergies" with it. |
| The deal values Skype at $2.75bn. EBay bought Skype for $2.6bn in 2005. | The deal values Skype at $2.75bn. EBay bought Skype for $2.6bn in 2005. |
| The new owners are Andreessen Horowitz, Index Ventures - which originally invested in Skype - as well as private equity firm Silver Lake and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. | The new owners are Andreessen Horowitz, Index Ventures - which originally invested in Skype - as well as private equity firm Silver Lake and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. |
| They will pay $1.9bn in cash, and give a $125m note to eBay, meaning that it promises to pay that amount on demand or at an agreed time. | |
| For sale | For sale |
| Earlier this year, eBay had said that it planned to spin off Skype and list its shares in the first half of 2010, an announcement many took as a signal that the firm was for sale. | Earlier this year, eBay had said that it planned to spin off Skype and list its shares in the first half of 2010, an announcement many took as a signal that the firm was for sale. |
| Ebay wrote down the value of the firm to $1.2bn a year after it was taken over. | |
| Including payouts to Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, who founded Skype in 2003, eBay paid over $3bn for the company. | |
| Skype's software lets computer and mobile phone users talk to each other for free and make cut-price calls to mobiles and landlines. | Skype's software lets computer and mobile phone users talk to each other for free and make cut-price calls to mobiles and landlines. |
| Unlike traditional mobile calls, which are transmitted over a cellular network, Skype turns your voice into data and sends it over the internet. | Unlike traditional mobile calls, which are transmitted over a cellular network, Skype turns your voice into data and sends it over the internet. |
| Since being acquired, the number of registered Skype users has risen to 405 million from 53 million, though free user-to-user calls still dominate the service. | Since being acquired, the number of registered Skype users has risen to 405 million from 53 million, though free user-to-user calls still dominate the service. |
| The deal should be finalised by the last three months of the year. |