Market wrap up: Skype deal lifts deal total

Deal volume had another major contributor during the past week when the Skype saga finally closed.

Online auctioneer eBay Inc. sold a 70% stake in its Skype unit to a group of investors that included Silver Lake Partners, Joltid Ltd., venture firm Andreessen Horowitz and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Joltid was formed by Skype’s previous owners (Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis) who sold the Internet telecommunications company to eBay back 2005. The transaction is valued at about $2.75 billion. EBay retains about 30% in the Luxembourg-based Skype.

The Skype deal was one of only three transactions that closed during the latest period, according to PE Week publisher Thomson Reuters. Two deals disclosed financial terms that combined for $2.05 billion.

These transactions helped push year-to-date deal volume up to about $27.6 billion.

Fund-raising update

Fund-raising also saw its year-to-date total increase to about $60 billion after the recent week’s activity by mezzanine and buyout firms.

One of the shops that helped the latest increase was Grey Mountain Partners. The Boulder, Colo.-based shop secured about $116.9 million for its second fund, Grey Mountain Partners Fund II, from 15 investors. The fund, which has a $250 million target, will invest in smaller middle market companies that generate revenue of more than $30 million or more than $5 million in EBITDA.

Another contributor to the fund-raising total was Maranon Capital. The Chicago, Ill.-based firm raised about $170 million for Maranon Mezzanine Fund from such investors as Arizona State Retirement and Capricorn Investment Group. The fund’s final close is expected in December. It has a goal of $250 million.