Online auction firm eBay is expected to announce the
sale of its internet telephony division Skype to a group of private
investors later today.
Just over a year ago, eBay said it
would consider selling off Skype if it failed to find any real
synergies with its core e-commerce business.
The group of investors is believed to include London-based
venture capital firm Index Ventures, according to the
New York Times.
Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, led by Netscape
co-founder Marc Andreessen and private equity firm Silver Lake
Partners, have also been named as likely investors.
It is not known if Skype's founders,
who tried to raise funds earlier this year to buy back their
old company, are among the new group of investors.
EBay has indicated that it is looking for around $2bn for Skype,
which is expected to earn more than $600m in revenue this year.
EBay acquired Skype in 2005 for over $3bn including payouts to
Skype's founders, but later said the company was not a good fit
with eBay's e-business operations.