In an announcement that makes one wonder whether Internet phone provider Skype is just a bunch of Hype… eBay said today that it will take $1.4 billion in writeoffs and other charges related to its October 2005 acquisition of Skype.
To top it off, Skype Co-Founder & CEO Niklas Zennstrom is stepping down from his post and the search for a new CEO is on.
EBay purchased Skype two years ago for $2.6 billion. The hope was, among other things, to use the internet phone company to encourage communications between EBay auction buyers and sellers.
The charges announced today reflect the “updated long-term financial outlook for Skype,” eBay said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
| 3 Responses to “Skype All Hype. ebay Fires CEO.” | |
| Vic Spear Says: | |
| October 1st, 2007 at 9:00 pm | |
Niklas Zennstrom stepping down isn’t sufficient for this corporate goof-up of the decade. Meg Whitman should be removed. How can a $1.4 billion write down in addition to a $2.6 billion overpayment for a nerdy offering be overlooked by shareholder oversight committees and pension funds ? Has corporate America lost its valuation senses and can such grevious CEO errors be overlooked time and time again ? Is $1.4 billion in writeoffs a small price to pay because the auction business is strong ? What happened to the automated CEO termination system or will we pay another $2.5 billion for some tech company to design that too ? |
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| Trey Anastasio Says: | |
| October 1st, 2007 at 9:43 pm | |
Meg Whitman is a decent CEO. Her purchase of half.com (buy it now) and paypal has paid huge dividends for ebay. She left her brain at home and went stupid that day when she purchased Skype. Any wannabe business person would understand. Google’s purchase of Youtube is smart. Buying subprimes mortgage packages is stupid. Britney Spears going against judges orders is stupid. Lowering rates 50 basis points is smart (shoot, we’re going to 0). |
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| Good to Go Pile . . . « Trading for the Masses Says: | |
| October 3rd, 2007 at 6:59 pm | |
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