M&A Deal Summary

Silver Lake and eBay Acquire Skype

On September 1, 2009, private equity firm Silver Lake and eBay acquired internet software and services company Skype from eBay for 2.8B USD

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is Silver Lake’s 2nd and eBay’s 25th transaction in the Internet Software and Services sector.
  • This is Silver Lake’s 14th and eBay’s largest (disclosed) transaction.
  • This is Silver Lake’s 2nd and eBay’s 2nd transaction in Luxembourg.
Investment Fate
  • Skype was sold to a publicly-traded strategic buyer in 2011 for 8.5B USD.

M&A Deal Summary

Date 2009-09-01
Target Skype
Sector Internet Software and Services
Buyer(s) Silver Lake
eBay
Sellers(s) eBay
Deal Type Divestiture
Deal Value 2.8B USD

Target

Skype

Luxembourg, Luxembourg
website
Skype office in Palo Alto, California.
Skype office in Palo Alto, California.
Skype provides internet based communication tools and software for individuals and businesses. Skype was formed in 2003.

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Buyer(S) 2

Buyer

Silver Lake

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

website


Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1999
PE ASSETS 102.0B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Silver Lake is a mega-sized private equity firm focused on a broad range of growth investments in and acquisitions of technology companies. Silver Lake is subdivided into several investing groups including Silver Lake Partners, Silver Lake Sumeru, Silver Lake Waterman, Silver Lake Alpine, and Silver Lake Kraftwerk. Silver Lake Partners pursues large-scale private investments in companies within the technology, tech-enabled and related growth industries. Silver Lake Sumeru invests in middle market technology companies with established business models and attractive growth prospects where there is an opportunity to create value through operational transformation. Silver Lake Waterman provides growth capital to later-stage companies in the technology and technology-enabled industries, offering flexible solutions to finance expansion and acquisitions. Silver Lake Alpine is Silver Lake's debt and credit investing arm. Silver Lake Kraftwerk provides growth capital to technology and tech-enabled businesses driving efficiency across the operations, energy, and resources industries. Silver Lake Partners was formed in 1999 is headquartered in Menlo Park, California.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 28 of 126
Sector (Internet Software and Services) 2 of 22
Type (Divestiture) 4 of 8
Country (Luxembourg) 2 of 2
Year (2009) 3 of 5
Size (of disclosed) 14 of 29
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2009-08-05 Broadcom

San Jose, California, United States

Broadcom is a designer, developer and global supplier of a broad range of analog semiconductor devices with a focus on III-V based products. Broadcom was founded in 2018 and is based in San Jose, California.

Sell -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2009-10-01 Nasdaq

New York, New York, United States

Nasdaq is an exchange company. With over 3,900 listed companies, it delivers trading, exchange technology and public company services across six continents. NASDAQ OMX offers multiple capital raising solutions to companies around the globe, including its U.S. listings market; the OMX Nordic Exchange, including First North; and the 144A PORTAL Market. Nasdaq was founded in 1971 and is based in New York, New York.

Buy -
Buyer

eBay

San Jose, California, United States

website


Category Company
Founded 1995
Sector Internet Software and Services
Employees11,600
Revenue 9.8B USD (2022)
DESCRIPTION
Entrance to eBay's corporate headquarters in San Jose, California.
Entrance to eBay's corporate headquarters in San Jose, California.

eBay is an online retailer and provider of auction tools and services. eBay enables global commerce and payments on behalf of users, merchants, retailers and brands of all sizes. The technologies and services eBay provides are designed to enable users and merchants worldwide to organize and offer their inventory for sale and buyers to find, buy and pay for it virtually anytime and anywhere. eBay was incorporated in 1995 and is based in San Jose, California.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 32 of 68
Sector (Internet Software and Services) 25 of 46
Type (Divestiture) 2 of 4
Country (Luxembourg) 2 of 2
Year (2009) 2 of 2
Size (of disclosed) 1 of 22
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2009-01-08 Positronic

Seattle, Washington, United States

Positronic has created predictive models and a machine learning platform that is vital for developments in search-based initiatives. Currently based in Seattle, WA, the team will relocate to San Jose.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2010-06-23 RedLaser

San Jose, California, United States

RedLaser is the top-selling iPhone barcode-scanning application for comparison shopping and product information using a mobile device.

Buy -

Seller(S) 1

SELLER

eBay

San Jose, California, United States

website


Category Company
Founded 1995
Sector Internet Software and Services
Employees11,600
Revenue 9.8B USD (2022)
DESCRIPTION
Entrance to eBay's corporate headquarters in San Jose, California.
Entrance to eBay's corporate headquarters in San Jose, California.

eBay is an online retailer and provider of auction tools and services. eBay enables global commerce and payments on behalf of users, merchants, retailers and brands of all sizes. The technologies and services eBay provides are designed to enable users and merchants worldwide to organize and offer their inventory for sale and buyers to find, buy and pay for it virtually anytime and anywhere. eBay was incorporated in 1995 and is based in San Jose, California.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 1 of 14
Sector (Internet Software and Services) 1 of 10
Type (Divestiture) 1 of 9
Country (Luxembourg) 1 of 2
Year (2009) 1 of 1
Size (of disclosed) 5 of 6
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2009-01-08 Positronic

Seattle, Washington, United States

Positronic has created predictive models and a machine learning platform that is vital for developments in search-based initiatives. Currently based in Seattle, WA, the team will relocate to San Jose.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2010-06-23 RedLaser

San Jose, California, United States

RedLaser is the top-selling iPhone barcode-scanning application for comparison shopping and product information using a mobile device.

Buy -