eBay Has Skype

eBay to buy Internet telephone firm Skype
Agence France-Presse
NEW YORK--Online auction giant eBay Inc. plans to buy Internet phone service provider Skype Technologies SA for at least 2.6 billion dollars, the companies announced Monday.
The deal calls for eBay to pay 1.3 billion dollars in cash and 1.3 billion dollars in stock, plus as much as 1.5 billion in incentives based on performance of the unit.
Skype, based in Luxembourg, is expected to add 60 million dollars of revenue in 2005 and more than 200 million dollars in 2006, eBay estimated.
Founded in 2002, Skype is among the leaders in Internet telephony, allowing users with an Internet connection to make free or low-cost calls.
EBay expects Skype's operating margins to range from 20 percent to 25 percent.
Skype has 54 million subscribers in 225 countries and territories. EBay also said Skype is adding 150,000 users daily.
Skype's founders, Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, will remain with the company.
EBay said in a statement that the acquisition, widely speculated upon last week, will strengthen its global marketplace and payments platform, while opening several new lines of business.