eBay settles lawsuits with Joltid and Joost in a $1.9 billion deal that gives Skype ownership over all software previously licensed from Joltid and paves the way for a group of investors to acquire the majority of the company. Joltid and Skype founders Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis, who had earlier tried to buy Skype back from eBay, will join the investor group, contributing Joltid software and making a capital investment in exchange for a 14 percent stake in Skype. Silver Lake and fellow investors Andreessen Horowitz and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board will grab 56 percent of Skype, with eBay retaining the remaining 30 percent.
– The future of voice-over-IP service Skype looks bright again for its more
than 500 million users.
eBay Nov. 6 said it has settled lawsuits with Joltid and
Joost in a $1.9 billion deal that gives Skype ownership over all software
previously licensed from Joltid and paves the way for a group of in…