by Geoffrey A. Fowler, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
There are growing signs of tension between some of the players behind the $2 billion deal to sell eBay’s Skype to a group of investors.
On Friday, Joost, the U.K. Internet video company, said that by shareholder vote it had removed Michelangelo Volpi from its board of directors and from his position as chairman of the company. Volpi, a former high-level Cisco executive, stepped down from Joost’s CEO position in July, and is now a general partner at investment firm Index Ventures.
As eBay Inc. looks to offload Skype, the executives who sold the Internet telecom firm to eBay have formed the hub of a European network of investors and executives that they hope will rival and even exceed the one in Silicon Valley.
by Geoffrey A. Fowler, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
In the past week, eBay Inc. chief executive John Donahoe has taken steps to divest two businesses, acquire another, and revamp his company’s core e-commerce website.
During a call with investors Thursday morning, Donahoe said he thinks an initial public offering for eBay’s Internet-phone unit Skype will best “maximize value,” but he would be open to an unsolicited offer from another company to buy it outright.
by Eric Savitz, Blogger and Columnist, Barron's, Tech Trader Daily
EBay this afternoon announced that it plans to spin off Skype via an initial public offering in the first half of 2010. The company said specific timing of the IPO will depend on market conditions. The announcement did not say whether eBay would maintain a stake in the company.
by Jessica Vascellaro, Tech Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will take to Oprah Winfrey’s couch today. What to expect? Questions about the economy? Mark’s not-so-secret Twitter account? The latest redesign?
When Google announced its integrated phone service called Google Voice Thursday, it said something very loudly.
Google is saying it wants to be the world’s communication hub, and hundreds of companies–ranging from mobile phone operators to Skype to Microsoft better be listening.
by Eric Savitz, Blogger and Columnist, Barron's, Tech Trader Daily
The fundamental debate over eBay boils down to this: The stock certainly looks cheap–trading at around eight times Street estimates for 2009 earnings. But the core business still appears to many to be fundamentally broken.
Like many Americans today, the economy is currently using me as its punching bag. So, I’ve decided to take a hard look at my monthly expenses and lop off anything I think I can live without–a financial amputation before gangrene sets in, if you’ll permit the metaphor. First in the crosshairs is my landline; I’m [...]
Is Microsoft (MSFT) interested in taking a stake in eBay’s (EBAY) PayPal and Skype units?
Stifel Nicolaus analyst Scott Devitt asserts in a research note this morning that he has “thought it possible for Microsoft to attain an equity ownership interest in PayPal/Skype.”
It should come as no surprise: Incumbents are beginning to act like incumbents. But while the cable companies are the first ones to jump on the tiered broadband bandwagon, they won’t be the last. Their argument for limiting bandwidth and data transfers based on price sounds like a good idea, especially as a way to get bargain hunters to buy. In the long run, however, tiered broadband is a terrible idea that will bring the innovation inspired by flat-rate broadband to a screeching halt.
AT&T, in conjunction with some 10 to 15 incumbent telecom carriers–British Telecom, Deutsche Telekom and NTT among them–is plotting to launch a Skype competitor, according to a research report issued by ThinkEquity analyst Anton Wahlman. This is Wahlman’s theory for now, but his track record is full of theories that have eventually been proven right.
by Rick Aristotle Munarriz, Contributor, The Motley Fool
The rumor mills are turning at a feverish pace. Various sources are predicting that Google (GOOG) is about to hook up with eBay’s (EBAY) Skype. And Google’s M&A appetite may not stop there. Shares of Expedia (EXPE) soared 10% yesterday, after an analyst with Susquehanna alluded to rumors that Big G was readying a bid for the travel portal. So bolt yourself to the floor, because a cash-rich Google may be coming for you next.
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