Skype out

13 April 2009 By Jeff Segal

The internet calling service s founders are hatching a plan to buy it back from the online auctioneer for less than they sold it for. That may seem less than tempting for Ebay. But Skype ties up capital and distracts the company s management. Ebay should sell it now.

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Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom, the founders of Ebayowned internet telephony firm Skype, are planning to make a bid to buy Skype back from Ebay. The duo has approached several private equity firms as financing partners, according to the New York Times, which cited unnamed sources.

Friis and Zennstrom are reportedly trying to raise $1bn in equity from private investors, and are discussing one case in which Ebay itself would put up the rest of the financing in the form of a seller's note to complete a deal worth more than $2bn. Ebay bought Skype for $3.1bn, including bonus payouts, in 2005.

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