Skype, the world’s largest carrier of IDD minutes, has filed for an IPO, seeking to raise $100 million.
The Luxembourg-based company said in a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission it hoped to list on Nasdaq by year-end.
The number of shares to be issued and price range has not been decided, it said.
Founded in 2003, Skype was bought by auction firm eBay for $2.5 billion in 2005, and last year sold back to co-founder Niklaas Zennström and Silicon Valley private equity firm Silver Lake. eBay still holds around 30% of the company.
It generated $406.2 million in revenue in the first six months of 2010, with ebitda of $115.8 million, the filing said.
As well as expanding its user base, the company said it would seek growth from “new monetization models” from advertising and licensing, and by targeting business customers.
Skype users accounted for 13% of international calling minutes in 2009, according to Telegeography. The company carried 95 billion calling minutes in the first half of 2010, 40% of which were video.