Ebay writes off $1.4 billion, Niklas Zennstrom steps down from Skype
While buying Skype might have seemed like a good idea at the time, eBay appears to be rethinking things. Skype CEO Niklas Zennstrom is stepping down today, and eBay is taking a $1.43 billion impairment charge this quarter, in large part because of Skype shareholder payouts.We've always thought Skype and eBay were a strange fit. While communication technologies are essential for an online auction house, voice and real time chat aren't really that useful. We wouldn't be surprised to see Skype spun off as a separate company once again. It's not impossible to make a profit from a VoIP service like Skype. There just aren't really that many synergies between software that lets you talk and software that lets you shop.
That hasn't stopped Skype from adding a business directory and other revenue-generating services for users. But primarily, Skype's business model is based on providing subscription based VoIP services, while eBay's is based on charging fees for transactions. Square peg, round hole anybody?
