eBay has completed its sale of a majority interest in Skype for
almost $2bn to an investor group that includes the founders of the
internet phone service.
The deal
was concluded when eBay was able to settle a legal skirmish
with Skype co-founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, which
allowed the deal to move forward.
Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis are to be board members of the
new Skype and will buy a 14% stake in the company.
In exchange, Skype has taken ownership of key peer-to-peer
software previously licensed from Joltid, also founded by Zennstrom
and Friis.
Silver Lake and other investors, including Andreessen Horowitz,
will together hold 56% of Skype, while eBay will retain a 30%
stake.
eBay said it is to receive about $1.9bn in cash plus $125m that
it will receive at a later date, according to
US reports.
