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skype.com:
eBay to Acquire Skype — London, September 12, 2005 - eBay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY; www.ebay.com) has agreed to acquire Luxembourg-based Skype Technologies SA, the global Internet communications company, for approximately $2.6 billion in up-front cash and eBay stock, plus potential performance-based consideration.
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BBC:
eBay to buy Skype in $2.6bn deal — Online auction site eBay has agreed to buy internet telephone company Skype Technologies in a $2.6bn (£1.4bn) deal. — eBay said it would pay half the amount in cash and the other half in stocks to create "an unparalleled e-commerce and communications engine".
Discussion:
Associated Press, Aqute Market Research, TechSpot, Alex Barnett blog and The Silent Penguin
Ross Mayfield / Ross Mayfield's Weblog:
The Simple Reason eBay bought Skype — In two hours, eBay is holding a conference call about buying Skype. I'm visiting the Skype guys in Tallinn a couple of hours later. Lot's of folks are scratching their heads. I have no inside information, nor really want it, but can offer …
Discussion:
The Doc Searls Weblog, Andrew Lark, Susan Mernit's Blog, The Stalwart, TechBeat, Threadwatch.org, Moore's Lore and OpsanBlog
Andy Abramson / VoIP Watch:
eBay Buys Skype — The last few days were rather quiet on the Skype Hype front. It seems my first gut reaction about Skype Was right and only over thinking caused a shift. I still view the Skype team as master marketers who played the game to the fullest and have won with eBay making the acquisition.
Jeff / The Jeff Pulver Blog:
End of an Era? eBay to purchase Skype — So it turns out that the rumors late last week were true. eBay is going to purchase Skype. — But one thing the folks at eBay forgot about, is that while money can buy many things, as the Beatles once said, "Money can't buy you love."
Discussion:
Roland Tanglao's Weblog
Rob Hof / TechBeat:
Why eBay Is Buying Skype — Here's my quick take, below, an edited version of which will appear in a few hours at businessweek.com. CEO Meg Whitman & Co. gave an impassioned rationale for the deal. I can certainly see that if Skype meets its ambitious goals, the deal could pay off eventually.
Eric Auchard / Reuters:
EBay to buy Skype in deal worth $4.1 bln - source — SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - EBay Inc. has agreed to buy the fast-growing Internet start-up Skype in a move to add free voice calls to its online auctions and fuel growth, a source close to the situation said on Monday.
Discussion:
Jon Arnold's Blog
Jeff Clavier / Software Only:
Skype + eBay = Deal! $1.3B cash + $1.3 stock + $1.5 earn-out = $4.1B! — Reuters' Eric Auchard has just reported that eBay has made a run after Skype after all, and has put a consideration that would total $4.1B if earn-out conditions are met. — This is a massive deal …
James Enck / EuroTelcoblog:
Niklas and Meg 4-ever — It's official, and I have to admit to feeling more than a bit crestfallen. Tracking the rise of Skype was one of my principal reasons for initiating the email blasts which evolved into this bloglet, and now it's going to be part of something bigger, but hopefully equally interesting.
Times of London:
New legal threat to Google over GMail — Google, the internet search engine, is facing a renewed threat of legal action from a company that claims to own the intellectual property rights to its GMail e-mail service. — Independent International Investment Research, a British company …
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Robert Scoble / Scobleizer:
Note to Mary Jo: Sparkle is no Flash killer — Mary Jo Foley gives her predictions of what's coming at the PDC: More Developers, More Developers, More Developers! — One thing I gotta correct. I used to think that Sparkle was a Flash killer. Hey, that was good hype cause that team hired …
Discussion:
JD on MX
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