eBay is planning to spin off Skype with an initial public offering (IPO) in 2010, The Financial Times reports. The move comes after the collapse of talks that would have sold eBay’s online phone unit back to its founders.

In an IPO, Skype could justify a valuation of over $2.5 billion, which would eventually prompt the buy-out funds that were trying to acquire Skype to come back with a higher bid. Goldman Sachs will manage the IPO.

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