SDRNews SDR2009-01-27 Skype For Sale. Really ?
- Cellphone Wallet in Japan
- Skype for Sale ?
- Hacking Programmable Roadsigns
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Skype for Sale. Really ?
by Andrew McCaskey
How Much of a Good Deal?
Every good deal requires a buyer and a seller. We know who the seller is but the buyer ? Not so clear.
In a somewhat defensive mood last week, the CEO of eBay, John Donahue fended off questions from reporters on the poor 4Q performance of the company and just happened to mention that Skype was a “great stand-alone businessâ€. Just in case anyone missed that broad hint he followed up with “that “the synergies between Skype and the other parts of our portfolio are minimal. We’re going to continue to run and operate the business. It’s not a distraction currently. And at such time when we have further announcements on that, we’ll let you know.â€
Ebay bought Skype in 2005 for $2.6 billion- causing some jaw-drops within the investment community – and now eBay has finally admitted since then that it hugely overpaid for the business.
Does Skype get absorbed by Google ? Is there some reason that telcos like Verizon or Sprint need them ? Last week we spoke about the flattening of the Skype rate of growth in revenues – and even once you get past 400 million or so finding new subscribers.
It may be that eBay is exactly like a few million non-corporate types in homes and automobiles: upside down. The trouble is, in bricks and mortar or vehicles you can ride it out. IP communications get devalued a lot more quickly.
eBay needs to take a lesson from Yahoo and if a buyer appears, recognize that 40% of something is better than 100% of nothing two years down the road.
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Cellphone Wallet in Japan
Skype for Sale ?
Hacking Programmable Roadsigns