A new chapter
Today, Skype begins a new chapter. We’re spinning off from eBay to become an independent company once again. This is very exciting news for all of us here at Skype, and I want to give all of you a brief overview of what’s happening.
A small group of venture capital funds have agreed with eBay to acquire a majority stake in Skype. The group is led by Silver Lake Partners, joined by Index and Andreessen Horowitz Ventures. You may recognize some names – for example Danny Rimer and Mike Volpi (both at Index Ventures) who were some of the earliest Board members and supporters of Skype.
The new investors will buy approximately 65% of Skype, with eBay continuing to own 35%, in a deal valuing Skype at $2.75 billion US. It means we’re back to being a fully independent company again, but with a new group of owners who believe passionately in our mission and in the ability of our team to deliver on it. I can’t wait.
Changes are always exciting… Only time will tell. Congratulations and wish you all the best!
Congrats on starting the new chapter… glad to see you back as an fully independent company. I look forward to seeing what you all do next!
It is nice to see explicit love to venture capitalists expressed. It happens so rarely in this part of the world (CEE). Wish you great success!:)
Congratulations. Here’s hoping that the new world order will get around to addressing the currently abysmal email support process.
Seems a great deal. I wish you guys all the best!
What are your guys goals and plans for now and the future? Are there going to be more countries to choose from on the subscription plan (Panama for instance)
Are you guys looking into new and better ways to improve overall voice quality? Thanks and I look forward to seeing what you guys will do in the near future .
Efrain
Exciting news – now the way is clear to push hard with really innovative and exciting ideas.
I trust that the deal solves the JoltID issue?
JB
This is really exciting, indeed. The pre-eBay times at Skype were a lot of fun, back when the company was very small. These days, it’s a bigger company (with or without eBay), but the newfound independence should give the company a chance to finally realize its full potential.
I’m looking forward to great things!
Kurt
Congratulations!!! You guys rock, and soon you’ll be able to buy eBay(not that you want to).
Who will be your officers?
Congrats! I love the service more now that I am in Europe. And you have been justifiably busy, but can we work on the Blackberry app as promised.
Congratulations to the team and please forgive a random question. With $1.9 billion paid up front in cash + $125 million note, for approximately 65% of the company, wouldn’t that value the company in excess of $3 billion (instead of the reported $2.75 billion)-?
Either way, congratulations again!
Congrats! Think of it – maybe, just maybe enough money will brought in to hire one guy, who could make decent Mac OS version of Skype. Maybe not ver 4 but who knows!? Me too, can’t wait.
congrats Josh. I agree. exciting times and also compliments to you for all the innovation in the last years(N97 integration, video calling etc). Look fwd to more in the future! kind rgds Ajit
Nice, Grats
always liked skype, always will
Exciting news!
I wish you good fortune in the new era of Skype.
Congrats! Now time to get online numbers in Canada
Not sure many folk would have thought Skype would be worth this much 18 months ago. Congrats to you and all at Skype who work long and hard. Celebrate in style!
It’s strange how little effort eBay seemed to put into nurturing Skype when it was most needed. Perhaps an actual Android Skype option will become available. (The existing Skype-lite Android App doesn’t use WiFi, which is pointless)
Looking forward to Skype improvements (a thin client perhaps)!
Congratulations!!!
Still thinking that so great company such eBay have no idea how to directing this service and also how to make it better. In this case that is great profit for Skype and dead-when-born deal for eBay. Nice profit ! Congrads! =)
But as Mac user I have question more then one: when Skype coming to great build ? Like Mac-native applications, without any issues ?
I need little CPU using, saving call and chat history, improved interface, great collaboration with iPhoto, AddressBook, real working Desktop-Sharing like iChat AND GREAT VOICE QUALITY for subscribed user. Is this so much ? I don’t think so.
Buy great programmers, rewrite very old compressing alg., buy new servers in datacenters in USA and Euripe. We all wait for this!!! =)
Have a nice day!
Hopefully this move will not only benefit investors, but also yearly subscription members like myself. I think most of your customers would agree that Skype’s technology is superb; however as you and everybody else knows it takes more than great technology to build a great company. A critical equation in any company’s success is customer service, and Skype hasn’t offered much of that AT all to customers. It often times takes DAYS to get a reply from anybody at Skype and that is unacceptable for a telecommunications’ provider (particularly if somebody’s service was blocked and he/she can’t use his Skype phone line to make and/or receive calls!)
So I know you are all excited because any acquisition generally means that your stock options and the like are worth more. However please keep your customers also in mind and please incorporate in your plan a way to be more customer focused!
As a customer I would also want Skype to start working together with 3rd party solution providers instead of completely ignoring their contact requests. Many companies like YouMail have tried to establish contact with Skype to get their voicemail system to work with Skype and their requests have been totally ignored.
Skype doesn’t provide a good voicemail solution and you should either come up with a world class voicemail system (which delivers voicemails through email, has software for windows mobile, iphone, etc.) or allow companies like YouMail, Google Voice, etc…which are providing world class solutions to work with our Skype phone lines. It is unacceptable from a customer’s perspective that I can have ALL my phone lines working with YouMail and Google Voice, except for my Skype line, and the reason for that is that Skype doesn’t provide an API, doesn’t allow voicemails to be forwarded via email, doesn’t allow a way for 3rd party providers to log in and retrieve the voicemails, etc.
IOW cooperate with 3rd party providers to enhance your service offering to customers. Remember that history shows that open or semi-open platforms are MUCH more successful than closed platforms (example Apple vs PC).
I am looking forward to seeing whether this acquisition brings benefits to US the customers of Skype.
Oh. I forgot to ask something. Does this acquisition solve the technology licensing issue which threatens to shut down Skype around June of next year (2010)? A lot of us have asked Skype for clarification on this and we haven’t received any answer.
I have several houses (mine and family members) wired up with Skype hardware phones (from GE) and I would have to see my investment become useless.
I look forward to seeing where Skype goes from here, and while the licensing issue is a concern, I don’t expect anyone to pay so much money for a company that’s not going to remain active and move forward.
Here’s to hoping that Skype remains as awesome as ever.
Thats good news…. congratulations and welcome to the new owners… i hope that someone tell them about SKYPECAST feature and how wonderful it was
this feature allow to meet different people for all over the world…
If it come back, maybe i would try to install skype again in my machine…
This is great news! I hope that Skype will return to its innovative roots.
And, I hope that Skype for Blackberry will be released soon.
Congratulations.
wish you good luck
hope skype will grow in every diresction and expend beyond VOIP
Will the new owners be more responsive to the User Community requests than current management? Or, will the current unresponsive management be left in place?
e.g., unaddressed porn spam and hacked accounts specifically.
My question submitted directly above was done so in earnest. What would be the usual and customary duration of elapsed time for a response before concluding that it is self-evident?
@gkennon – I’ve seen (and responded to) your comments about spam over on the appropriate post
@peterparkes – You have redirected me to your blog on anti-spam initiatives where people are complaining, and have been for some time, about unaddressed porn spam. That would be the correct spot for a related response to new actions addressing the spam (there has been no new statement since you started the blog).
My questions about a management change is appropriate here, as is the necessary period of time for a management response. Both of which remain unanswered.
Will Skype have an IPO in 2010?
Do you have anything to do with Silver Lake at the Deer Valley Ski Resort in Park City, Utah?