SKYPE SHOPPING ITSELF?

Om Malik has the scoop again. Morgan Stanley, my wife's old shop, has been hired as an advisor to screen and scope potential buyers. As I've written before, it's probably the best time to sell with Vonage, Yahoo!, Google, Microsoft, SBC, maybe Comcast, and whoever else chasing behind Skype with guns ablazing. More from Om:

Skype has hired Morgan Stanley as an adviser who can screen the “buyers.” While that’s the case, my Yahoo sources tell me that Skype approached them, and they balked at the asking price. What was the asking price? No one will even as much as hint to confirm this, but Skype wanted a billion dollars. Beyond that, everything else, I take with a pinch of salt.

So what does that really tell me? Two things. First, Skype is open to the right offer. Secondly, the asking price of $3 billion is tad too over optimistic. There must also be realization that in not so distant future, the wireless and wireline operators are going to clamp down on Skype, and create quality of service issues for the service. More on that later. (full post)