Skype IPO

Skype has made a trans-Pacific connection with Japan's second-largest mobile carrier, announcing plans to offer its Internet phone and videochat service to KDDI's customers. The partnership, which is similar Skype's agreement with Verizon, could bode well for its IPO plans.

Earth to Skype: Forget those lofty IPO plans. If Cisco Systems or a telecom company comes knocking on your door with a multibillion dollar buyout offer, take the money and run, say institutional investors and Wall Street soothsayers.

Cisco Systems has reportedly made a bid for Skype, even as the Internet videochat service is gearing up for an IPO, according to TechCrunch. The folks at Skype are hoping to land an IPO valuation of $5 billion, so it would likely take an offer as good or better than that to get them to bite.