VoIP (voice over internet protocol) firm Skype has just issued a statement announcing its intent to raise up to US$100m for an initial public offering of its ordinary shares.
Filing the Form S-1 registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission Skype plans to go public, with Goldman, Sachs & Co, J.P. Morgan Securities and Morgan Stanley & Co as joint global co-ordinators and joint book-running managers for the offering.
Skype said that, when available, a copy of the preliminary prospectus can be obtained from Goldman Sachs.
Founded in 2003 by tech entrepreneurs Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis, Skype was one of the first VoIP services that allowed users to voice and video chat over an internet connection on their desktop.
There have since been Skype-specific mobile handsets as well as smartphone applications for the iPhone, Nokia handsets and Android devices amongst others.
Although eBay acquired Skype in 2005 by 2009 it had sold the majority stake in September 2009 following a series of disputes between Skype and its technology partner Joltid over licensing. It had been rumoured at the time that eBay had even talked to Google about a purchase.