eBay Sells Majority Stake in Skype

eBay, the online auction company has sold a majority stake in its internet telephone company Skype to a private investment group. for a cash payment of $1.9bn (£1.17bn).The group, led by private equity company Silver Lake, is made up of Andreessen Horowitz, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Index Ventures and the stake was acquired for a cash sum of £1.9bn.Skype, which allows customers to make free telephone calls from their computers, was bought by eBay for $2.6bn in 2005, but they admitted they had paid over the odds for the company. They retain a 35% stake in Skype.