San Francisco – Chief executive Meg Whitman is battling skepticism over eBay Inc.’s decision to pay at least $2.6 billion for Internet phone provider Skype Technologies SA. Many analysts are questioning both the price tag and the companies’ compatibility.
Skype – founded by the creators of Kazaa, the file-sharing program that riled the music business – gives away software that lets people talk for free over the Internet using computers and microphones. A paid version, SkypeOut, allows those calls to be connected to regular phones.
Skype’s voice capabilities will speed communication between eBay’s buyers and sellers and increase the level of trust, Whitman said in announcing Monday’s cash-and- stock acquisition.
Moreover, privately held Skype has attracted a broad international following that eBay hopes to leverage, especially in countries where eBay has little or no presence.
But eBay’s buyers and sellers can already communicate via e-mail – 5 million messages a day are sent – and some analysts questioned Whitman’s claim that sellers would welcome voice communication.
“EBay is well out of its comfort zone on this one,” Forrester Research analyst Maribel Lopez said.
Whitman compared the Skype move to eBay’s acquisition of PayPal, the online payment company it bought in 2002 for $1.5 billion. Before buying PayPal, eBay unsuccessfully tried to compete against it with Billpoint, its own payment company.
“We worked hard to build up Billpoint,” Whitman said. “In the end, PayPal had the technology lead, they had already built the ecosystem. Skype is in the same position. It has a global footprint and is already a well-known brand.”
The acquisition’s total value may climb to $4.1 billion based on whether Skype meets a series of performance targets over the next three years, eBay said.
Skype can help San Jose, Calif.-based eBay boost transactions that require significant communication, such as real estate deals, Whitman said.
And eBay stands to pocket fees for the calls.
EBay shares rose 32 cents, or 0.8 percent, to close at $38.94 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
