Skype sale: 20 Things We Don't Know
Things we don't know about the sale of Skype.
- Who are the unnamed investors providing the bulk of the $1.9 billion in cash? [Update: We know a little more.]
- Are Skype's founders among the new investors?
- Which large competitors joined the investor pool?
Big telecom companies? Cisco? Microsoft? Google? [Update: We don't know who put money into Silverlake Partners] - Any Recovery.gov funds find their way into the investor pool?
- How is the investor pool structured and divided? Which funds and people own what? [Update: "The CPPIB, which manages retirement funds for Canadians, will put up $300-million in cash for a 15 per cent stake, The Globe and Mail has learned." That's 15% of the 65%.]
- Who will sit on Skype's board? Who will chair?
- Will Marc Andreessen remain on eBay's board? Is there a conflict of interest?
- What is the timing? "The transaction, which is not subject to a financing condition, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2009." What are the steps the parties must complete? In what order? By when?
- Do the investors require Skype resolve the Joltid lawsuit before closing?
- What bank is handling the transaction?
- What assets are included in the sale? What intellectual property?
- Are there any regulatory hurdles?
- What secures the "note from the buyer in the principal amount of $125 million"?
- Will employees get a taste of the spinoff capital? Bonuses?
- Will all employees stay or will some return to eBay?
- Why is eBay holding 35%? To reconcile asking and selling price? via @aswath
- Can eBay still IPO its 35% post-sale shares?[Update: Maybe, but the other investors and the company management would have to agree.]
- What is the investors' exit strategy? IPO? @andyabramson. [Update: Maybe, but eBay and the company management would have to agree.]
- Will the official headquarters remain in Luxembourg? [Update: Yes.]
- If eBay investors are as angry as Om Malik says they should be, can they block the sale? (Shades of Yahoo!-Microsoft)
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1 Comments:
If recovery.gov or other Federal funds are used, then I'd like to see Skype making a more official commitment to accessibility as a means of demonstrating
compliance with Section 508 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act. Although some progress has been made over the years with respect to accessibility, there
have also been backslides and gaps. It is clear accessibility is not yet a core part of Skype's DNA as a company. I'd like to see that change, if for no
other reason than to ensure the legal release of those desired Federal funds.
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