The purchase could exceed 2,700 million
Facebook and Skype and Google are struggling to threaten operators
Google and Facebook are struggling for control of Skype, the largest Internet telephony or VoIP. An operation that could exceed 2,700 million euros. With this move, the two Internet giants threaten the traditional leadership in the phone business with operators.
S. Miller / M. Jiménez - Madrid - 06/05/2011
The events can be precipitated Skype. Initially, the shareholders of the VoIP operator planned to put in part of the capital stock. But the operation, which capture estimated 1,000 million dollars (about 685 million euros), appears to have stopped. Now the company has begun negotiating with their own processes, Facebook and Google for a possible strategic alliance, and even sales. It is not the first time are no comments on this line since last summer and it was rumored that Cisco wanted to buy Skype. Now the struggle between the two Internet giants promises to be hard. According to Reuters, citing two sources familiar with the negotiations, the process has come to join Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO.
In principle, integration with Skype would make more strategic sense for the network, since Google already has communication services through the Internet like Google Voice. Now it seems that the search would not be willing to have his rival to remain with a company like Skype that has a large presence throughout the world. In its corporate website, the Internet telephone operator says it has an average of 124 million users online per month (in total has more than 560 million registered customers.) Of these, nearly 8.1 million paying customers were. The company indicates that the first half of 2010, its users consume up to 95,000 million minutes of voice. The operation, in any case, will mean a significant outlay. Specialized media spoke yesterday of a payment of between 3,000 and 4,000 million dollars (between 2,056 and 2.741 million euros). Thus, the sale of Skype to a third party, rather than an IPO, would bring more money to shareholders, led by eBay and Silver Lake.
financial muscle
De entered in an auction for the purchase of Skype, the biggest advantage would be the next Google as it has greater financial muscle than Facebook. The search engine, which is one of the world's richest companies, ended the first quarter with 36,700 million dollars from cash and short-term investments. With the takeover, the most popular search engine would become an operator. Without a doubt, something not at all like the traditional telcos, who have always distrusted the power that is acquiring the U.S. giant. The form could include Skype communications services in its portfolio of offerings and leverage its sales force to promote it.
And is that a hypothetical takeover of Skype would give it to Google, or Facebook, at least 12% of international call traffic, which is the market share attributed consultancy TeleGeography in 2010 at the Internet company . This activity has been growing at over 50% over the past years.
The relevant fact related to its IPO, filed in August, the company said in the first half of 2010 had recorded revenues of $ 406 million, up 25% over the same period last year.
A story with operations millions
Skype's career can be considered very long and despite moving into a fledgling business as the Internet. The company was founded in 2003 by Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, creators of Kazaa and two renowned figures of the online world. Later, in 2005, decided to sell the company to eBay for a total U.S. $ 3,100 million, paid partly in shares and partly in cash. However, the results were not provided by the Internet giant. According to some industry experts, eBay was not able to get the most out of Skype, which itself could have done online groups like Yahoo and Google (the latter can now have their chance to get the most juice to the exploitation of the giant VoIP).
In November 2009, eBay sold 70% of Skype by just over 2,000 million dollars to a group of investors led by the firm Silver Lake and also participating, Joltid Limited, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Andreessen group Horowitz besides the founders, Zennstrom and Friis. However, eBay, he wanted to concentrate on their business e-commerce and online payments, decided not completely out of capital and retain 30%. The company, eBay explained, was valued at 2,750 million.
In August 2010, Skype posted a significant event in the New York Stock Exchange indicating their intention to start trading. In October, the company appointed a new CEO, Tony Bates, a former Cisco vice president, who decided to delay the IPO, initially, in the second half of 2011. Now everything can change. More Actions
Operators also move in reverse. Thus, Telefonica bought Jajah (rival of Skype) in 2009 and in April showed his intention to revolutionize Internet voice calls in the mobile world. Through its subsidiary Jajah announced the launch of its voice communications service through Facebook, the network is now trying to buy Skype for Mobile. With this application, any Facebook user can make free calls to your friends online.
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