The return of founding fathers has a mixed record in the tech world. Apple regained its mojo, while Yahoo and Dell struggled. For Skype, having Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis back on board is at least a good start.

Ebay bought the internet communications company from the pair in 2005 for $2.6bn in the misguided belief that online auctions might have something to do with making free phone calls over the internet. Eventually realising its mistake, Ebay agreed in September to sell a 65 per cent stake in Skype to a consortium led by private equity group Silver Lake, at a valuation close to the original purchase price (adjusting for earn-out payments to the founders).