Why would an online auction company be interested in buying an Internet telephone company?

Numerous industry experts are trying to answer that question after learning Thursday that eBay, the undisputed leader in online auction services, is reportedly in talks to acquire Skype Technologies, one of the world's largest providers of VoIP services.

The head-scratching was prompted by a report in The Wall Street Journal that claimed eBay is considering paying between $2 billion and $3 billion to acquire Skype. The report quoted unnamed sources familiar with the talks.

Skype, which has held talks with other potential suitors, is tight-lipped. "We don't comment on rumors," said Skype spokeswoman Kat James in an e-mail.

EBay could not be immediately reached for comment.

That Skype is talking to another prospective buyer shouldn't surprise many people. The Luxembourg-based VoIP service provider has already held negotiations with a number of interested buyers, including News Corp., Microsoft and Yahoo, but none of these talks have led to deals.

And that eBay is snooping around the market for a good buy should equally come as no big surprise. As its core business online auction business matures, the company has been looking to expand into new product areas and international markets.

Analysts, however, have mixed opinions on whether a hookup between these two Internet companies is a good or bad thing for their business development -- and their customers.

"I'm not sure if eBay really needs to buy a company like Skype to add another form of communications to its service," said Ian Fogt, senior analyst at Juniper Research, a unit of Juniper Media. "You don't need to own an e-mail company to encourage users to use this form of communication. A partnership would suffice."

Nor was Fogt convinced about the deal if intended instead to help eBay diversify into new markets. "It would be a courageous move for eBay to expand into this new area; it wouldn't be necessarily wrong but certainly high risk," he said.

Jeff Kagen, an independent analyst and an authority on telephone services, agrees.

"I do not see [eBay-Skype] becoming anything more than one of the small players in the phone business," he wrote in an e-mail.

Kagen argues that over the next five to 10 years, most phone customers will remain with traditional telephone and the cable television companies because of their bundled telephone, cable, Internet and wireless offers. These companies will account for roughly 80% of the telephone market, including VoIP service, while the smaller, niche players such as eBay-Skype will have the remaining 20%.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.

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