eBay Is Expected To Announce The Purchase Of Skype

EBay has scheduled a conference call with investors for 5 a.m. Monday to make an announcement, though the company would not disclose any details.

It is assumed that the conference would be about the acquisition of major Internet telephony-service provider Skype, for a price of $2,6 billion in cash and stock, that would bring the total cost up to $4.1 billion, according to a Financial Times report.

The paper also declares the deal as imminent: `"if Skype hits certain performance targets between now and 2008.'' Skype managers would stay on with the company through 2008, the paper stated.

The online auction giant would pay about $2.5 billion in a stock and cash deal for Skype Technologies, but . EBay's costs could grow if Skype meets certain performance targets, as a source quoted by Mercury News has stated on Sunday.

Seems that, after all, all the rumors and speculations have something to do with reality, despite the astonishment of most of the industry analysts, who never thought eBay would need to conclude such a deal.