Bitter legal battle for Skype technology likely to end: report

The bitter legal battle for Skype's technology between its owner eBay and Skype's founders over a dispute of its peer-to-peer (P2P) telephony technology is likely to end, according to The New York Times and technology blog site Gigaom.

Skype's Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis may arrive at a settlement with a consortium of private investors led by Silver Lake Partners, which will allow the US online auction company eBay, the current owner of Skype, to sell 65 per cent of voice-over-IP service Skype for about $2 billion.

In early September, a consortium of private investors led by Silver Lake Partners and London-based Index Ventures, which was an early investor in Skype had offered to acquire 65 per cent of Skype for $2 billion. (See: eBay to sell Skype to a consortium of private investors)

In a deal hammered out between Skype and co founders Zennstrom and Friis are likely to get a board representation with the possibility of Index Ventures being left out of the deal.

Michelangelo Volpi, currently in the eye of the legal battle is a partner at Index Ventures and earlier was the CEO of Joost, an internet TV service company founded and owned by Zennstrom and Friis.

The legal settlement, according to NYT citing two people briefed on its outlines, the consortium of Skype's buyers would be restructured in such a manner that Zennstrom and Friis would have a significant stake in the new Skype with one board seat and Index Ventures would be withdrawing from the consortium.