Zennstrom Bails on VON Canada; Vonage Savaged

This shouldn't really come as a surprise but Niklas Zennstrom has pulled out of his VON Canada keynote that was scheduled for next week.(hat tip to Jim Courtney). He'll be replaced by Stefan Oberg (who?), Skype's v.p. of product development. Zennstrom's disappearing act comes days after Skype, Janis Friis and Zennstrom were sued under RICO laws by Streamcast. Given the sensitivities of a lawsuit, the idea of Zennstrom giving a keynote must have benn quickly killed by eBay's P.R. folks and its lawyers. This is yet another big blow for VON Canada, which saw Vonage decide not to participate because its Canadian P.R. firm apparently doesn't think VON has enough of a consumer angle. Needless to say, the VON folks are not pleased given VON founder Jeff Pulver was one of Vonage's co-founders. It's also curious to see Pulver isn't kicking off VON Canada. Instead, sidekick Carl Ford will give the opening remarks.

Update: Speaking of Vonage, CNN/Money has a story suggesting Vonage is shopping itself, which may explain why its IPO has been filed for two months. The potential buyers, according to CNN/Money, are Sprint, Verizon and Qwest. Om Malik hits the nail on the head when he asks if there's little interest in the IPO, why would there be any interest in an acquisition. Meanwhile, Alec Saunders weighs in with a blunt post – “Worst IPO Candidate of This Year?” – looking at the bad economics of the VoIP markets – lots of competition, lower prices. Saunders concludes it would represent the “ultimate triumph of greed and stupidity over common sense” for anyone who buys into the IPO or acquires Vonage. That's harsh, Alec, but oh so true!