Ebay has agreed to sell a 65 percent stake in Skype to a group of private investors for USD 1.9 billion cash. The investors are private equity groups Silver Lake and Index Ventures; Andreessen Horowitz, the recently launched venture capital firm led by Netscape founder Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz; and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. The sale price also includes a note from the buyer worth USD 125 million. Ebay will hold on to the remaining 35 percent in Skype. The deal values Skype at USD 2.75 billion, similar to the price of USD 2.6 billion in cash and shares announced by eBay when it acquired Skype in late 2005. Ebay struggled to make a profit with Skype or integrate it into its core online auction business, and had announced plans to spin off Skype. The new owners are expected to help Skype further develop and accelerate its growth. The VoIP service had over 480.5 million registered users at the end of June.
