eBay Finalizes Skype Acquisition

1:27 pm on September 12, 2005 | Category: Business, Corporate, VoIP, Web Services

eBay has announced this morning that it plans to acquire Luxembourg-based VoIP telephony company Skype Technologies. The total cost of the deal will be $2.6 billion in up-front cast, plus shares in eBay, and the potential for more payments in the future, based on the company’s performance. The agreement also stated that Skype co-founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis will remain in their current positions, and join eBay’s senior executive team.

Acquiring Skype will strengthen eBay’s global market position, and open up several new revenue opportunities for the company. Combined, eBay, Paypal, and Skype form a massive global marketplace, which will serve as an extremely powerful environment for engaging in business and commerce over the internet.

eBay shareholders seemed cautiously optimistic about the move, a change from the mild panic incurred last week when the possibility of a Skype acquisition was first announced. The company’s share price was up 0.83% today, signaling that most shareholders are willing to accept the risk associated with this agreement, and move forward, hoping for the best.

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