Top Items:
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:
Andrew Lark, The Doc Searls Weblog, TechBeat, Susan Mernit's Blog, The Stalwart, 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 …
Om Malik / Om Malik's Broadband Blog:
SkypeBay done for $4.1 Billion. — Update: So the deed is done - $4.1 billion. EBay will pay $1.3 billion in cash and $1.3 billion in stock for the online communications company. It will make a further payout of up to $1.5 billion if certain financial targets are met, Reuters reports.
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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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 …