Joost UK goes titsup

Web telly firm jettisons office furniture

By Cade Metz in San Francisco • Get more from this author

Posted in Music and Media, 15th October 2009 00:20 GMT

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Joost, the web telly firm founded by the blokes behind Skype, has liquidated its UK subsidiary.

As reported by The FT and TechCrunch Europe, Joost UK was put into liquidation earlier this month, yet another step in the slow decline of the Netherlands-based outfit.

This summer, unable to hook up with the world's big-name media companies, Joost bumped CEO Mike Volpi from his post and rejigged its business model. Then, in mid-September, it booted Volpi from his post as chairman, before suing him amidst allegations of leaked trade secrets.

Famously, Joost was founded by Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, the dudes behind the peer-to-peer file sharing service Kazaa and the (semi-)eBay-owned VoIP service Skype. As they juggle lawsuits against both Volpi and ebay, the two are now setting up a music subscription service dubbed Rdio.

One can only imagine what legal fun this venture will bring.

Joost retains operations in the Netherlands and New York, but on October 2, the company called for an end to its UK arm. Liquidators tell The FT that Joost retains a skeleton staff. But TechCrunch says the company's furniture is already in the hands of another startup. ®

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