p2pnet news view | Products:- The already dodgy relationship between Kazaa (and Skype) creators Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis and eBay has taken another seriously negative turn.

eBay forked out a staggering 2.6 billion to to buy Skype but last year, Zennstrom’s role as CEO was cancelled and Friis who, according to BusinessWeek, had been working on “new initiatives” part-time, would, “no longer have a role in the company,” said the story.

Now, citing “limited synergies,” eBay will drop Skype, beginning with an IPO intended to be completed in the first half of 2010, says eWeek, going on »»»

The company released a statement saying the decision to separate Skype was based on a timeline outlined by EBay’s president and CEO, John Donahoe. At the time, the company said it would spend a year evaluating Skype and its potential synergies within the EBay portfolio before making any decisions about Skype’s future.

But the move by eBay, “which has given up trying to integrate Skype into its main marketplaces business,” could also be seen as placing a ‘for sale’ sign on it to “fetch offers from potential buyers,” says the Toronto Star.

And eBay’s decision to give up on VoIP, “leaves open the possibility that the creators of Skype, the billionaire Scandinavians, Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom, could repurchase the company,” says Times Online, adding:

“The pair have been plotting with a quartet of private equity groups including Warburg Pincus to seize back the business they founded.”

No need to stay tuned.

BusinessWeek – EBay’s Skype Bubble Bursts, October 1, 2007
eWeek – Ebay Releases IPO Plan for Skype, April 14, 2009
Toronto Star – Skype spin-off plan cheers eBay investors, April 15, 2009
Times Online – Investors cheered by eBay’s plan for Skype, April 15, 2009