Initial reports of a potential deal between the two companies suggested News Corp would have purchased Skype outright for a little less than $3bn. But later wire reports said News Corp held discussions with Skype last month to buy just a stake in company, which is no longer under consideration.
News Corp declined to comment on the reports. We don’t comment on speculation, News Corp spokesperson Andrew Butcher told ComputerWire. Skype was unavailable for comment.
Since launching in 2003, Luxembourg-based Skype has attracted $24m from investors including heavyweights Bessemer Venture Partners and Draper Fisher Jurvetson.
DFJ managing director Tim Draper told Reuters yesterday that he would prefer if Skype remained independent. The company is worth a lot more independent, he said.
In May, Skype co-founder Niklas Zennstrom told Reuters that a sell out or initial public offering was not planned, but that floating was a possibility at some future point.
