Auction site eBay has announced that it is readying Skype for an initial public offering (IPO) in the first half of 2010.
John Donahoe, president and chief executive of eBay, says that the decision was made to separate Skype from eBay due to "limited synergies" between the two organisations.
The internet telephony company was acquired by eBay in 2005 in a deal worth €2.1 billion (£1.9 billion) in stocks and cash.
Donahoe became chief executive of eBay in April last year and indicated at the time that he intended to spend 12 months evaluating Skype's position in relation to its fit within eBay.
He also hired a new management team to take the reins at Skype, which eBay says has helped Skype to boost its revenues through annual double-digit growth.
Skype is expected to surpass the $1 billion (£671 million) mark in terms of sales in 2011.
"We believe operating Skype as a standalone publicly traded company is the best path for maximising its potential," Donahoe says.
He adds: "Separating Skype will allow eBay to focus entirely on our two core growth engines - ecommerce and online payments."
Skype recently released its first app for the iPhone, which saw over one million users download the tool in its first 36 hours of availability.
