Not the case at all. Let's work through the math: eBay spent 3.1B for Skype. They sold it at a valuation of 2.75B. It's fair to assume that the price they s

Not the case at all. Let's work through the math: eBay spent 3.1B for Skype. They sold it at a valuation of 2.75B. It's fair to assume that the price they sold it at is a market value for the company, and therefore a fair way of valuing the 35% they still carry. So the loss from reduced valuation was $350M. But according to TechCrunch, Skype's net profits over that time period come to $324M. Take those numbers together, and it was basically a wash. Factor in the fact that the deal was largely paid for in eBay stock which was basically monopoly money at the time, and it looks like they did pretty well.