Skype is victim of "wag the dog" sellout rumors

Skype is victim of "wag the dog" sellout rumors on April Fool's DayYesterday was April fool's day, but that didn't stop the blogosphere from getting excited about the rumor that eBay was going to sell Skype to Google, then hoping that it might be true and finally convincing each other that it actually is true. It might have been originally reported here, but it was regurgitated in short order here, and here, and here, and here, and the list goes on and on. Without exception, these bloggers all think such a divestiture would be a good thing. I take a contrarian view.Contrarian ViewIt is NOT in eBay's interest to give Google or Microsoft or Yahoo another way to attack its core properties in ecommerce (eBay and PayPal). As a part of eBay's portfolio of assets, Skype is a great bargaining chip to keep its competitors (and partners) honest. eBay would be foolish to sell it to one of them at any price, even the $5-6 billion that some now think it might be worth.

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