I think Marc Andreessen position is weak in this fight. I have absolutely no empathy for Carl Icahn, but on this issue, he's got a good point. It seems Marc Andreessen had a conflict of interest and instead of showing that wasn't the case, Andreessen decided to attack Icahn for stuff that aren't related to this issue, even if they were definitely questionable.
* Throughout the eBay board’s process of divesting Skype, I fully disclosed
my potential interest and recused myself from all deliberations on the
transaction, including all discussions, negotiations, and decisions. I was
uninvolved in eBay’s decision to spin off Skype and in eBay’s decision to
choose to partner with the Silver Lake syndicate.
* eBay’s retained ownership in the Skype spinoff was 30% vs. Andreessen
Horowitz’s approximately 3%. That much larger ownership gave eBay a far
bigger role in decision making on Skype after the spinoff than Andreessen
Horowitz, as well as a far bigger economic payoff on the sale to Microsoft.
http://blog.pmarca.com/2014/03/03/my-statement-on-ebay-director-role-and-governance/
Ebay retained 30%, so we're really arguing over 70% of the gain that didn't go to ebay. And some of it was always going to go back to the founders because Meg Whitman is a fucking moron -- she not only bought a company without buying the backing tech, but then proceeded to fuck over the founders, screwing them on over $1B, who retained ownership over the backing tech. No cause for bad blood there! Leadership!
Anyway, it does seem a little sketchy, but on the other hand, marc seems to have acted well within established business practices.
(3) Restrictions on use of company confidential information by
any director for any purpose other than that company’s benefit.
I don't have any idea what the discussions happened between A16Z and Silver Lake, but it seems like tons of emails could be construed as a conflict.
Even a wikipedia quote is problematic:
"Through our research, we found that Skype had a core group of engineers who were completely dedicated to the mission. They stayed through the eBay acquisition and were hugely determined to make Skype the communications company of the future."
Did he learn that as a board member, or from research done at a16z?
That's the crux of it: Andreessen did the right thing. The wider question is too much of the tech landscape running through one man? All power to him: all companies want his magic, but at some stage, the web of connections will cause these issues.
What, Icahn can fling random accusations but Andreessen can't? It's all just mud-slinging.
As for Andreessen's motive, I suppose he probably thinks Icahn is making a power play and is more interested in fending off Icahn than in defending himself in this particular instance. Icahn clearly wants Andreessen on the defensive, so it kind of makes sense, though it all feels a bit embarrassing.
I understand this is all mud-slinging and I think most of us agree that Icahn probably got more mud in his past (though I am sure someone will disagree).
The question for Andreessen is that did he think (and could prove) that he's a more ethical businessman than Icahn (note I am not saying a better person here) Apparently not, at least in the Skype sale.
