Months of legal wrangling over the fate of Skype ended Nov. 6. That’s when parties sparring over the technology at the heart of the Internet-calling service reached a settlement, changing ownership of the business and removing a major impediment to eBay’s attempt to sell most of Skype to a group of investors. The resolution lets Skype’s new owners turn their attention more fully to ramping up growth and adding new features.
p
Under terms of the agreement, Skype founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis will join the group of investors that’s been trying to purchase Skype from eBay. Zennstrom and Friis will get a 14 percent stake, while Skype takes ownership of software previously owned by their company, Joltid. Zennstrom and Friis also agreed to contribute what eBay terms a significant capital investment. The amount was not disclosed, but the founders’ stake is valued at $886 million.
p
The settlement also witnesses the departure of one of the original investors, Index Ventures and its partner Mike Volpi, credited with spearheading the acquisition, initially for a 65 percent stake in Skype. Although Skype has the potential to be a great investment, the deal terms changed for Index such that it no longer matches our investment criteria and thus we have decided not to participate in the transaction, Index partner Danny Rimer said in a statement.
p
Besides the founders, Skype’s new owners include Silver Lake, Andreessen Horowitz, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. The settlement ends a handful of lawsuits that were standing in the way of an acquisition that when announced on Sept. 1 was viewed as a fresh start for the widely used Skype and a way for eBay to sharpen its focus on core e-commerce businesses.
p
subhead
EBay, Investor Stakes Shrink
/subhead
p
The pending transaction quickly became mired in litigation as Skype’s founders alleged that Volpi illegally…