The rumored Skype sale by eBay: Much ado with little to go by

Commentary is swirling in the blogsphere this week over the prospect of eBay selling its VoIP property Skype to an acquirer. But does the online auctioneer really have some sort of "plan" in that direction?

Much of the media appears not at all convinced that this is so, despite all the attention paid to the rumors.

In stories on the subject that are becoming practically obligatory by now, some publications are softening their headlines with "may" or "might," as in "EBay might consider selling Skype." Even more seem to be couching the headline as a question, a la, "Will eBay sell Skype"?

But at least one influential article has played up speculation over a supposed "eBay plan" to unload the Skype property, originally acquired by the auctioneer back in 2005 for a hefty $2.6 billion.

Along the way, names of potential suitors fancifully trotted out have ranged from Google, to combine Skype with its "Talk" feature, to Microsoft or Yahoo, because they're also big enough.

The furor revolves around statements made by eBay CEO John Donohoe during a conference call last week.

"I think we're now confident that the synergies between Skype and the other parts of our portfolio are minimal," Donohoe said during a quarterly financial call with analysts. "We are going to continue to run and operate the business. It's not a distraction currently and at such time when we have further announcement to that, we'll let you know, but for now, we are very pleased with the momentum of the business and it's not a distraction."

Donohoe, though, uttered these remarks during a Q&A session at the end of the call, in answer to a question from an analyst about what eBay is doing to maximize Skype's shareholder value.

Also during the call, Donohoe said that "Skype is a great standalone business," the type of comment he's been known to make before.

But if the CEO is actually trying to drum up potential suitors for Skype, it's odd that he didn't put up a "for sale" sign more deliberately and forthrightly, when he had a chance to do so during last week's call. This isn't to say that the sale of the admittably non-"synergistic" Skype wouldn't benefit eBay, or that eBay wouldn't accept a large enough offer for Skype if one ponied up.

Yet with profits for its core business down, along with consumer spending, eBay has other fish to fry. Preparing Skype for some type of spinoff isn't necessarily a huge priority, particularly right now.

In a press statement this week, an eBay spokesperson declined further comment about Skype, except to say that, "Skype continues to grow very rapidly, and we'll continue to review how it fits in the portfolio."