It is too early to tell, what is going on, but there seems to be rumors floating that Skype and Yahoo are in close contact, and perhaps cooking up a commercial partnership. The reports are based on a post on Jean-Michel’s blog（http://billaut.typepad.com/jm/2005/06/yahoo_et_skype_.html）. It might be too soon for Skype to be cashing out, and I am not sure if Yahoo can justify the big ticket valuation that would be slapped on Skype. There maybe a revenue share deal in the offering! That would make my recent post on Skype, more relevant.
I have a feeling that two companies could be working on ways to get together and make their individual IM/VoIP clients work with each other. Some sources say that Yahoo’s Messenger team has been hyperactive, and is trying to find creative opportunities, so lets not rule out a possibility of an outright purchase. Still given the 41 million downloads, Skype would be a great acqusition for Yahoo, because it could add some significant heft to the Yahoo! Messenger platform. Yahoo has been spending significant amounts of money on turning this into a voice client as well.
The big problem to this deal would be cozy relationship Yahoo enjoys with the baby bells. Skype is public enemy #1 in those circles, and it could mean a big risk for Yahoo which is building itself as media giant of the 21st century. Stay tuned - I am on the trail right now!
发表于 2005-6-12 15:51:00