Jul 21, 2020 - Economy & Business

eBay agrees to sell classifieds business in $9.2 billion deal

Dan Primack, author of Pro Rata

Illustration: Rebecca Zisser/Axios

eBay on Tuesday said that it will sell a majority stake in its classifieds unit to Norwegian classifieds firm Adevinta.

The big picture: eBay came under pressure in early 2019 from activist investor Elliott Management, which wanted it to spin off both its classifieds and StubHub units from its flagship marketplace platform. StubHub was sold to Viagogo just before the pandemic hit.

Details: The deal values eBay's classifieds unit at $9.2 billion, with eBay to retain a 44% stake in the newly-created company.

  • The business has a higher profile outside of the U.S. than within it, offering online adds in more than 1,000 cities and generating $248 million in Q1 2020 revenue.

Rivals: Adevinta's cash and stock deal beat out an all-cash, $9 billion bid from Dutch conglomerate Prosus. There also was an offer from a private equity consortium that includes The Blackstone Group, Hellman & Friedman, and Permira.

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