The online auction firm said Skype was worth $900m (£450m) less than it paid for it and set aside $530m to meet future pay-outs to some shareholders.

Together that amounts to a loss of value of $1.43bn, compared to the $2.6bn price paid for Skype in 2005.

Skype founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis have quit as executives.

“I think this is a testament that the Skype franchise is not worth as much as eBay originally thought,” said Youssef Squali of the brokerage Jeffries & Co.

Skype generated only $90m in revenue in the three months to the end of June, eBay said.

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