SAN JOSE, Calif., Feb. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- eBay Inc. (Nasdaq:
EBAY), a global commerce leader that connects millions of buyers
and sellers around the world, today issued the following statement
regarding the previously announced strategic review of eBay's
Classifieds Group ("Classifieds").
eBay has been exploring potential value-creating alternatives
for Classifieds and continues to be in active discussions with
multiple parties regarding a potential transaction. As previously
noted, eBay expects to provide an update regarding this process by
the middle of the year. eBay remains committed to maximizing the
value of Classifieds for eBay shareholders.
The strategic review of Classifieds is part of eBay's broader
portfolio review, which resulted in the successful sale of StubHub
for $4.05 billion in cash.
"eBay's Board and management are committed to driving
significant returns to shareholders by maximizing the value of
Classifieds and positioning our Marketplace business for long-term
success," said Scott Schenkel,
interim CEO of eBay Inc. "The Classifieds review process, together
with the StubHub sale and our initiatives to increase volume,
revenues, margins, and cash flow while continuing to invest in
long-term profitable growth, demonstrate this commitment. We are
acting with urgency while focusing on the ultimate objective of
maximizing the value of Classifieds."
In addition to eBay's portfolio review, the Company's management
team has executed numerous value creating actions since the
beginning of 2019 that are transforming eBay's business and
strengthening its foundation for growth. Among others, these
actions include:
- Scaled Managed Payments in the US and Germany; by 2022, Payments is expected to
generate $2 billion of revenue and
$0.5 billion of operating
income;
- Delivered a point of margin improvement and committed to at
least 2 additional points of margin expansion by 2022 while
investing in revenue growth initiatives;
- Executed $5.0 billion in share
buybacks and recently announced expansion of 2020 share buyback
plan from $1.5 billion to
$4.5 billion;
- Implemented eBay's first ever dividend and committed to a 14%
increase in 2020;
- Increased focus on Marketplace volume growth with a
reorganization of the executive leadership team and a
re-prioritized customer-focused plan that includes improved
vertical buyer experiences, more data & tools for sellers, and
increased platform conversion leveraging an expanded structured
data foundation.
eBay's Board and management team are confident that the above
actions will help achieve the previously stated priorities for 2020
and position eBay for sustainable, profitable long-term growth.
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and LionTree Advisors LLC are acting
as financial advisors to eBay on the strategic review of
Classifieds, and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is acting as
legal counsel.
About eBay
eBay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY) is a global commerce leader including
the Marketplace and Classifieds platforms. Collectively, we connect
millions of buyers and sellers around the world, empowering people
and creating opportunity for all. Founded in 1995 in San Jose, California, eBay is one of the
world's largest and most vibrant marketplaces for discovering great
value and unique selection. For more information about the company
and its global portfolio of online brands, visit
www.ebayinc.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are
based on the company's current expectations, forecasts and
assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties. These statements
include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the future
performance of eBay Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries,
including the future growth in its business, operating efficiency
and margins, reinvestments, dividends, share repurchases, and the
expected timing of the announcements regarding the company's
strategic portfolio review, including the timing and other
expectations regarding the Classifieds review process. Actual
results could differ materially from those predicted or implied and
reported results should not be considered as an indication of
future performance. Other factors that could cause or contribute to
such differences include, but are not limited to: changes in
political, business and economic conditions, any regional or
general economic downturn or crisis and any conditions that affect
ecommerce growth or cross-border trade; the company's ability to
realize expected growth opportunities in payments intermediation
and advertising; the outcome of the strategic portfolio review;
fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; the company's need
to successfully react to the increasing importance of mobile
commerce and the increasing social aspect of commerce; an
increasingly competitive environment for its business; changes to
the company's capital allocation, including the timing,
declaration, amount and payment of any future dividends or levels
of the company's share repurchases, or management of operating
cash; the company's ability to increase operating efficiency to
drive margin improvements and enable reinvestments; the company's
ability to manage its indebtedness, including managing exposure to
interest rates and maintaining its credit ratings; the company's
need to manage an increasingly large enterprise with a broad range
of businesses of varying degrees of maturity and in many different
geographies; the ability to successfully intermediate payments on
our marketplace platform; the company's need and ability to manage
regulatory, tax, data security and litigation risks; whether the
operational, marketing and strategic benefits of the separation of
the eBay and PayPal businesses can be achieved; the company's
ability to timely upgrade and develop its technology systems,
infrastructure and customer service capabilities at reasonable cost
while maintaining site stability and performance and adding new
products and features; and the company's ability to integrate,
manage and grow businesses that have been acquired or may be
acquired in the future.
More information about factors that could affect the company's
operating results is included under the captions "Risk Factors" and
"Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operations" in the company's most recent Annual Report
on Form 10-K and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, copies
of which may be obtained by visiting the company's Investor
Relations website at https://investors.ebayinc.com or the SEC's
website at www.sec.gov. Undue reliance should not be placed on the
forward-looking statements in this press release, which are based
on information available to the company on the date hereof. The
company assumes no obligation to update such statements.
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SOURCE eBay Inc.