Skype founders want the company back

Legendary entrepreneurs Niklas Zennström (pictured on the left) and Janus Friis started collecting money to repurchase their offspring from eBay Corporation. At one time (in 2005), they sold Skype for a giant amount of even $ 3.1 billion, and still no one understands how they did it. Now Niklas and Janus want to perform the reverse operation. They have already begun consultations with a number of funds that can invest in this project.

Nothing is reported about the negotiations between entrepreneurs and eBay, but it can be assumed that they have already agreed on the issue. The main thing is to find the money. It is known that entrepreneurs are asking for about $ 1 billion. According to analysts, the deal can be made at a price of about $ 1.7 billion.

The pepper of this story is added by the fact that before the sale of Skype in 2005, Zennström and Friis transferred the rights to the key peering technology underlying Skype to Joltid , which they still own. Until recently, eBay used the technology under license, but on April 1, 2009, entrepreneurs overturned this license through a British court.

The eBay company has repeatedly signaled its desire to sell Skype and reported on the unprofitability of the service and the unreality of “discouraging” the investments in some foreseeable future. Now, during a crisis, they can even more consider it a blessing to get rid of this asset. Under current conditions, $ 1.7 billion looks no worse than four years ago $ 3.1 billion.
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From 2005 to 2009, the registered users of Skype increased from 53 to 405 million people. The service revenue in the last quarter was $ 145 million. Now, after Skype for iPhone and other mobile phones, the audience and service profits can grow many times.

via NY Times