Important dates in Skype history
Milestones in the history of Internet phone company Skype:
2003: Skype Beta launches publicly. The company was founded by Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, creators of the music downloading service Kazaa.
Oct. 14, 2005: EBay Inc. buys Skype for $2.6 billion. Two years later it pays an additional $530 million to some Skype shareholders because the business exceeds certain performance targets.
Oct. 1, 2007: EBay says it will take a $900 million accounting write-down on the business, acknowledging it had overvalued it.
April 14, 2009: EBay announces it will spin off Skype through an initial public offering in the first half of 2010.
Sept. 1, 2009: EBay announces it will sell a 65 percent stake in Skype for about $2 billion to a group of private investors.
Nov. 19, 2009: EBay sells a two-thirds stake in Skype to an investor group that included the founders of the Internet phone service, for roughly $2 billion, saying its agreement values Skype at $2.75 billion. A week earlier it settled a legal skirmish with the founders.
Aug. 9, 2010: Skype files for a U.S. initial public offering
Oct. 4, 2010: Skype replaces CEO Josh Silverman with Tony Bates, formerly a Cisco senior vice president.
March 7, 2011: Skype announces it will launch an advertising platform for the first time.
May 10, 2011: Microsoft Corp. agrees to buy Skype for $8.5 billion, its biggest-ever acquisition.