Turns out the rumors were true and Ebay actually acquires Skype:

EBay said on Monday it planned to pay $1.3 billion in cash and $1.3 billion in stock for the online communications company. It will make a further payout of up to $1.5 billion if certain financial targets are met.

Congrats to Skype and DFJ (who funded my last company). Good stuff.

So, do we read into this a very clever cohesive strategy from Ebay that most of us have missed, or simply concern about their main line business and a desire to diversify? The couple of ex-Ebay folks I’ve talked to are skeptical of the Very Clever Plan scenario, but maybe that’s why they’re ex-Ebayers.

As an end user, I’m not particularly thrilled about this deal. I use Ebay rarely, grudgingly. I use Skype often, gladly. My experience with Ebay has been continuous increase of fees and a requirement to know more about me than any other business I deal with. I’ll give you an example: I want to change my email address, Ebay requires me to give them credit card information. WTF?

Skype, on the other hand, has been a pleasure. They recently made calls to 800 numbers free. They allow me to use their system without knowing anything about me. Somehow I just don’t see these kinds of moves coming from Ebay. Maybe time to look at that Gizmo project?