eBay in talks to buy Skype

Leading Internet auction site eBay is in talks to buy Internet telephony company Skype in a bid to boost its flagging growth, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The report said that the companies were discussing a valuation of between 2 bln dollars and 3 bln dollars, but that negotiations were still far from complete.

Luxembourg-based Skype runs software that allows consumers to make free calls over the Internet. It makes money by charging for premium services like making calls from the Internet to regular phone lines.

Founded by the makers of the Kazaa peer-to-peer software, Skype is seen as leading the shift away from the traditional phone network to an Internet-based system.

The report noted that eBay is searching for new product categories and international markets and has made a string of acquisitions and investments over the last year and a half to enter markets such as rental-property listings, online classified-ad listings and comparison shopping.

The acquisition of Skype could augment this strategy by adding services that make it easier to buy and sell goods online, the report noted. (dpa)