Publicação
Skype - lessons learned from a history of success and failure in mergers and acquisitions - legal and financial aspects of intellectual property within the Skype acquisition
| Resumo: | The eventful acquisition history of Skype first gained attention in 2005 with eBay’s $2.6 billion takeover of the then-unprofitable VoIP technology company. After failed attempts to integrate the software into eBay’s bidding platform and an associated $1.4 billion write-down, legal disputes over the technology’s source code with Skype’s co-founders exposed the importance of intellectual property in the context of Mergers & Acquisitions. A subsequent majority stake sale to private equity investors at a $2.75 billion valuation and two attempted public floats later, Microsoft announced the staggering $8.5 billion acquisition that further illuminated challenges around intangible asset valuation and regulatory approval. |
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| Autores principais: | Aberham, Timon Matthias |
| Assunto: | Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) Corporate Finance Synergies Case study Company analysis |
| Ano: | 2025 |
| País: | Portugal |
| Tipo de documento: | dissertação de mestrado |
| Tipo de acesso: | acesso aberto |
| Instituição associada: | Universidade Nova de Lisboa |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| Origem: | Repositório Institucional da UNL |
| Resumo: | The eventful acquisition history of Skype first gained attention in 2005 with eBay’s $2.6 billion takeover of the then-unprofitable VoIP technology company. After failed attempts to integrate the software into eBay’s bidding platform and an associated $1.4 billion write-down, legal disputes over the technology’s source code with Skype’s co-founders exposed the importance of intellectual property in the context of Mergers & Acquisitions. A subsequent majority stake sale to private equity investors at a $2.75 billion valuation and two attempted public floats later, Microsoft announced the staggering $8.5 billion acquisition that further illuminated challenges around intangible asset valuation and regulatory approval. |
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