In a rat race to the finish, both Facebook and Google are reportedly thinking about purchasing Skype after the company delayed its initial public offering.
According to Reuters, Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has already kicked off an internal discussion about buying Skype, or possibly forming a potential joint venture. Similarly, Google is apparently engaged in talks about a joint venture with Skype.
Skype is currently valued at $3 billion to $4 billion with its IPO expected to raise about $1 billion.
Recently, the value of the service has been somewhat undercut by rival offerings from both Google and Apple who both offer video conferencing services.
Discussions with both Facebook and Google are still in early stages, and it’s unclear which option Skype favors.
The IPO is slated to take place in the second half of 2011, but the company is staying open to the possibility of working with other companies apart from Google and Facebook.
Both Skype and Google declined to comment, while Facebook was not immediately available for comment.
“When a company is not going public and it has been on file for a long time, one way or another something is going to happen,” an unnamed source told Reuters.
