Under eBay, Skype's user number grew, crossing 405 million by 2008, and communications revenue rose. But then Whitman stepped down as CEO, making way for former Bain executive John Donahoe, who didn't think eBay's core businesses were benefiting from the Skype transaction.
In 2009, the economy was in recession, eBay's sales growth had turned negative and the stock price was lower than it had been since 2001. In a statement that touted the release of a Skype app for Apple's iPhone, Donahoe announced that eBay would launch a Skype initial public offering as part of a separation.