eBay Inc’s (EBAY) communications wing, Skype is building its management team. The company, in which eBay retains a 30% stake has appointed former Sony (SNE)-Ericsson (ERIC) president, Miles Flint to chair its new 17-member board.
Thomson-Reuters (TRI) head of collaboration services and Asian sales is also joining Skype as the new General Manager and Vice President of its business-to-business (B2B) operations.
Given their backgrounds, it appears that Skype is intent on building its position as a leading communications tool for handset and other platforms. The company has existing arrangements with handset makers – Nokia (NOK), Apple (AAPL) and Research In Motion (RIMM), which were recently supplemented through agreements with high definition TV-makers Panasonic (PC) and LG Electronics.
It is expected that the company’s technology would be harnessed by small businesses that are not in a position to deploy expensive communications infrastructure as provided by the likes of Cisco Systems (CSCO).
However, it is still a fledgling operation and could run into different issues, related to both technical difficulties and competition. We still don’t know for example, whether Google (GOOG), on its current buying spree, would acquire competing technology and put it put of business. We also don’t know if the majority of users will remain non-paying and how they would react to a payment plan should Skype decide to implement one. For now, the company seems to be going out for business customers.
In November 2009, eBay sold off the majority 56% stake in Skype to private equity firm Silver Lake and the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), with the balance going to founders Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom.
The transaction netted $1.9 billion for 70% of the company, a small gain considering the $2.5 billion it paid to acquire Skype in 2005.
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