Is Skype on the block?

Back in 2005, eBay’s $3.1 billion acquisition of Skype made a lot of headlines. Skype usage was growing like crazy even though revenues were a minuscule $7 million. Not only did the price raise a few eyebrows, unlike eBay’s earlier acquisition of PayPal, it wasn’t clear what the fit was with eBay. Online auctions + VoIP = What? And despite the hype around Skype, it wasn’t obvious whether it was disruptive or just destructive.

Now after persistent rumors, Fortune reports that eBay is considering selling Skype. Skype’s revenues are now about $100 million, and it’s profitable, which means it could be a good fit for Microsoft, Google, or perhaps a telco willing to continue to invest while revenues grow.

There are now 338 million registered Skype users, though most don’t pay much, if anything at all. But if Skype or an acquiring company can add more value-added services, it’s a pretty good installed base.