eBay moves into telephony with $2.6bn Skype deal

The online auction house eBay has moved into internet telephony with a $2.6bn (£1.4bn) deal to buy Skype.

Founded by two entrepreneurs who invented and subsequently sold the peer-to-peer filesharing software comany KaZaA, Skype became the fastest growing player in the voice over internet protocol (VoIP) world by applying the same process to voice calls.

The intensity of interest in this rapidly growing field was reflected in the size of eBay's bid. The company is going to pay 40 times Skype's expected 2005 turnover of $60m, half in cash and half in shares.

Continued...