The companies said the deal was mutually beneficial because it would mean that Skype, which lets PC users across the world talk to each other for free, can advance its internet voice communications service, and at the same time would strengthen eBay's global marketplace and payments platform and open up new lines of business. Half the initial $2.6bn payment will be made in cash and half in eBay stocks.
Meg Whitman, president and CEO of eBay, said that combining e-commerce franchises eBay and PayPal with internet voice communications will create a powerful environment for business online.
"Communications is at the heart of ecommerce and community," she said.
Skype was founded in 2002 by Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis. The Skype software, which is free to download, includes voicemail, instant messaging, call forwarding and conferencing calling features.
It has recently added Skype video, avatars and customised toolbars for Outlook and Internet Explorer.
Zennstrom, Skype CEO, said: "Our vision for Skype has always been to build the world's largest communications business and revolutionise the ease with which people can communicate through the internet."
Others in the online telephony and communications market include Yahoo!, Microsoft, AOL and recent entrant Google.
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