iTWire - eBay devalues Skype; Zennstrom steps down as CEO

eBay devalues Skype; Zennstrom steps down as CEO

by Stuart Corner
Tuesday, 02 October 2007
Page 1 of 2 eBay has announced that Skype co-founder and CEO, Niklas Zennstrom, has stepped down to become non-executive chairman. Michael van Swaaij, eBay's chief strategy officer, will become acting CEO until a permanent successor is found. Register now to win a Canon EOS 500D Also, Henry Gomez, Skype's president, who remained a senior vice president at eBay during his two-year tenure at Skype, will return to eBay as senior vice president for corporate affairs, reporting to president and CEO, Meg Whitman. Russell Reynolds Associates is conducting the search for Zennstrom's replacement. He has been heavily involved for the past year in Joost, an IPTV joint venture eBay also announced that it has paid €375 million (approximately $US530 million) to settle all of its future obligations under the earn-out agreement signed with certain Skype shareholders when it acquired Skype in 2005. The earn-out agreement provided for payments of up to approximately €1,200 million (approximately $US1,700 million) based upon specific active user, revenue and gross profit targets that were to be achieved in 2008 and the first half of 2009. eBay now says it "believes that the €375 million payment is reasonable given the progress and anticipated rapid growth of Skype's active user base." eBay's acquisition of Skype in mid 2005 was greeted with considerable scepticism that eBay would be able to achieve the synergies touted at the time. eBay said the acquisition would "strengthen its global marketplace and payments platform, while opening several new lines of business and creating significant new monetisation opportunities for the company...Buyers will gain an easy way to talk to sellers quickly and get the information they need to buy, and sellers can more easily build relationships with customers and close sales. As a result, Skype can increase the velocity of trade on eBay, especially in categories that require more involved communications such as used cars, business and industrial equipment, and high-end collectibles." << First page < 1 2 Next page > Last page - Post your comment >>