Skype to be sold to Andreeseen Horowitz Investor Group
Posted on 01. Sep, 2009 by jessica in Business, Dis & Dat, News, Tech
The winner for the most pressing digital sales news this week goes to the upcoming sale of Skype to investor group, Andreesen Horowitz. Sources such as Brad Stone and Claire Cain Miller claim that the deal will be publicly announced today. For those of you unfamiliar with Andreesen Horowitz, here are a few key facts: Marc Andreeseen and Ben Horowitz founded the company in July 2009, with $300 million under their belts. The fund will make investments of $50,000 to $50 million, but will generally focus on early stage opportunities.
Index Ventures, a venture capital firm specializing in investments in information technology and life sciences, is claimed to also be participating in the acquisition. Silver Lake Partners, a private equity firm, is noted as supplying the bulk of $2 billion price tag.
Earlier this year, eBay announced that they expect to spin off the company in an initial public offering in 2010. This came about after Skype founders were said to be attempting to buy back the company from eBay. Announcements such as these are often used to generate acquisition offers from potential suitors.
Josh Silverman, Skype CEO, has not announced if he’ll continue to lead the company after any acquisition. However, Skype founders, Niklas Zennstorm and Janus Friis, were reportedly communicating with several private equity firms earlier this year to make bids for the company. Now, their final bid is on the horizon. Thank you, Andreesseen Horowitz!
Check out the video with information on the sell: eBay Sells Skype
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