Skype co-founder says forecasts overshot
October 15, 2007
The writedown on the value of the deal came as eBay said Skype co-founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis had resigned as executives, and marked a tacit admission of lackluster returns from Skype since eBay acquired it two years ago.
The cofounders stepped down before reaching earn-out targets in 2008 and 2009, but Zennstrom would not say whether that meant he would have definitely have missed them.
“It (the final target) was two years away. The time value of money is significant,” Zennstrom said, adding he wanted to focus more time investing cash in smaller companies.
EBay said it had paid $530 million to Skype shareholders, including Zennstrom, out of a possible $1.7 billion.
Zennstrom’s other major venture.
