Comments on: Skype Sold for $2.75 Billion http://gigaom.com/2009/09/01/skype-sold-for-2-75-billion/ Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:36:28 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: TelepathicPebble http://gigaom.com/2009/09/01/skype-sold-for-2-75-billion/#comment-586649 Fri, 04 Feb 2011 20:57:35 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/?p=67233#comment-586649 Great now we have to pay if we want unlimited calls. Skype is a sell out.

]]> By: ebay http://gigaom.com/2009/09/01/skype-sold-for-2-75-billion/#comment-223083 Thu, 03 Sep 2009 09:17:46 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/?p=67233#comment-223083 i think 2.75 billion is a right price for it because it is good business and the buyer will be in profit but the main thing is that the problems related to patents

]]> By: Abdu http://gigaom.com/2009/09/01/skype-sold-for-2-75-billion/#comment-223082 Wed, 02 Sep 2009 22:18:50 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/?p=67233#comment-223082 It never made sense to me why eBay bought ebay. Occasionally I buy stuff from ebay. I would never want to call a buyer. Email works fine. Most people have cell phones with free long distance. Why would I use Skype to call? Unless the argument was to conceal the sellers’ phone numbers and use Sjype handles instead. In this economy, it seems eBay recouped its investement and fended off a legal headache. Now it can concentrate on the auction site and move on.

]]> By: Stefan http://gigaom.com/2009/09/01/skype-sold-for-2-75-billion/#comment-223081 Wed, 02 Sep 2009 02:03:24 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/?p=67233#comment-223081 Ebay has got to be getting the short end of the stick in this deal whilst it’s a great deal for the new Skype investors…..

Besides the fact that ebay didn’t acquire the IP (still don’t get that one…..), but after having paid some 2.4B and now some 5 years into the acquisition…. the revenue numbers are starting to kick in…$600M in the last year…. 8% of global long distance traffic to become the worlds largest long distance carrier… one of the largest online communities with some 200M members and 10M simultaneous active users …..huge customer satisfaction rates particularly amongst the “non techies”…… now ebay decides to sell at roughly the same price they paid 5 years ago…

I can only see upside in this deal….
- the cross and up selling opportunities
- growth in “VAS” adoption (skype in/out – vm services – rbt etc etc)
- Enterprise opportunity and growth with targeting SMB
- mobile application (to gbp point just imagine the impact of an improved mobile client)
- switching technology…. agree they are unlikely to switch to SIP but creative minds can solve the licensing issue

Couldn’t agree more that Josh Silverman has done a brilliant job in building out Skype t and think he is clearly the man to continue running with it and delivering on the opportunity. The executive team should now really get the full commitment and resources to grow this puppy. Which for all skype fans is a great thing.

Though I still wonder where ebay is going with all of this? As a platform and community haven’t they maxed out? Paypal is where a strong part of their future growth will come from and to me Skype was the other pillar of growth…. I am an ebay shareholder exactly because of these 2 growth stories….. if they spin off paypal I hope its to the public market where I can buy some shares….

btw I’m sure there are alot of details and legal complications with this idea but wouldn’t it have been great to sell shares in Skype on ebay? I’d put in a lot of bids and I bet you I’m not the only one.

]]> By: Paul http://gigaom.com/2009/09/01/skype-sold-for-2-75-billion/#comment-223080 Tue, 01 Sep 2009 21:57:01 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/?p=67233#comment-223080 Think about the other assets the CPF owns… directory businesses… connect the dots

]]> By: Tsahi Levent-Levi http://gigaom.com/2009/09/01/skype-sold-for-2-75-billion/#comment-223079 Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:21:03 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/?p=67233#comment-223079 Om,
I actually waited for someone to come out and say that Skype won’t switch to SIP as it makes to business sense to them – thanks for doing that!
Tsahi

]]> By: gbp http://gigaom.com/2009/09/01/skype-sold-for-2-75-billion/#comment-223078 Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:16:53 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/?p=67233#comment-223078 Om,
Skype is subpar in the mobile app area. If they can build a great app ( they have for iPhone and WinMo and such)., which focuses on the sound quality , they have a life under the new management.
Current call quality is horrible ( the terrible ECHO anybody :-) ).

Else ,they are gone. I am not sure the former Netscape guy can make a profitable business out of it.
Comcast, Verizon, Time Warner and Vonage are fighting out in this low margins business.

And there is this small matter of MagicJack .

VOIP consolidation will take place in next three years.

]]> By: Diwaker Singh http://gigaom.com/2009/09/01/skype-sold-for-2-75-billion/#comment-223077 Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:14:30 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/?p=67233#comment-223077 Great news! Josh has done a wonderful job at Skype. He will hopefully now have the resources and the freedom to go it even bigger and better.

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