TechCrunch has reported confirmation that eBay has has sold Skype to a private equity firm led by Silver Lake Partners.

Skype is a VOIP software application that allows users to make phone calls over the internet.

Back in 2005, eBay had won a bid out between Google and Yahoo for ownership of Skype. Since then, Skype has become one of the most popular methods of communication between continents, much like USENET.

Skype had long had a system in which it has attempted to build categories of communities with its voice application similarly in architecture as the USENET. As one of its failures, it scaled back and focused on its core.

The outcome of the transaction has yet to reveal what’s in store for the future of Skype.