Ebay has announced plans to spin off Skype, its online phone unit, with an initial public offering next year following the collapse of talks that would have sold Skype back to its founders.

The plan amounts to an admission by John Donahoe, Ebay’s chief executive, that Skype was ill-suited in Ebay’s portfolio. “It’s clear that Skype has limited synergies with Ebay and PayPal,” Mr Donahoe said.