"Selling Skype now at this great valuation, while retaining an equity stake, makes sense for the company," said eBay CEO John Donahoe, said in a press statement.  "And it allows us to focus all of our energies on the opportunities in front of PayPal and eBay."

EBay will be able to use the money made from the deal for  future acquisitions to strengthen its core auction business.  After successfully beating out Google and Yahoo for the right to purchase Skype, eBay has been unable to integrate its VoIP services into eBay.

There were several rumors the past couple of weeks that an investor group would purchase Skype, but the deal wasn't confirmed until today.  Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, private equity firm Silver Lake Partners, venture capital firm Index Venture and Canada pension Plan Investment Board are several of the investors involved in the purchase.

Analysts are unsure if Skype will be able to grow as an independent company, but the investor groups will likely keep a tight control of the company.