A price valuation of $2 billion would be low for Skype, the chief executive of parent eBay Inc said on Wednesday.

San Jose-based eBay said last month it would spin off the internet phone call company through an IPO by the first half of 2010. Analysts have said Skype could fetch $2 billion, compared to the $2.6 billion which eBay paid for it in 2005.

Asked on the sidelines of a retail conference in Barcelona about a $2 billion tag, Chief Executive John Donahoe said I think that's low.

Donahoe declined to publicly state the minimum valuation the company wanted for the firm, adding only I think it's worth a lot and I think the numbers speak for themselves.

There are not many properties that have that kind of growth.

Skype co-founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis have contacted several private equity firms in a bid to launch a bid to buy back their old business, sources have said.

Asked whether eBay had been approached by interested bidders, Donahoe declined to comment.

I'm the CEO of a publicly-listed company. We'd have to look at any enquiry seriously and we would, he said.

(Reporting by Sarah Morris, editing by Mark Potter)

Ebay Software Price