According to Bloomberg and several other sources, EBay is planning to spin off Skype with an IPO. Read the story here.

Apparently, Skype has never quite fit in with EBay. Here’s an excerpt:

“The only problem with Skype is it’s part of EBay,” said Jeff Lindsay, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. in New York. “It’s a marriage made in hell. They will make more money from spinning it out than they ever could by keeping it.”

The IPO could raise $500 million to $1 billion for EBay, depending on how much equity the company gives up, said Paul Bard, an analyst with Renaissance Capital LLC in Greenwich, Connecticut. Skype’s market value could be $3 billion to $5 billion, he said. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. will lead the underwriting.

Me, I’ve just started to use Ekiga. I’ve made one perfect outgoing call to a land line and received my first incoming call last night. Unfortunately, it was garbled. This too shall pass.