EBay Explores Sale of Ad Business -- WSJ
February 22 2020 - 3:02AM
Dow Jones News
By Cara Lombardo, Corrie Driebusch and Miriam Gottfried
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (February 22, 2020).
EBay Inc. is taking steps toward a potential sale of its
classified-ads business, which could be worth roughly $10 billion,
according to people familiar with the matter.
Private-equity firms including TPG and Blackstone Group Inc. and
strategic bidders including Naspers Ltd. and German publishing
company Axel Springer SE have recently expressed interest in the
business, the people said. The company has also started reaching
out to other potential buyers.
Indications of interest for the classifieds business are due in
March, they said.
EBay confirmed in a Friday statement after The Wall Street
Journal reported on interest in the classifieds unit that it has
been exploring options for the unit and is talking to multiple
parties about a potential deal.
The classifieds unit primarily operates internationally and
allows users to post goods and services in their local communities,
similar to Craigslist in the U.S. For much of the past year, San
Jose, Calif.-based eBay has been mulling its options for the unit,
which could also include a spinoff or joint venture.
Internet conglomerate Naspers has an existing classifieds
business called OLX Group that operates in more than 30 countries.
Axel Springer, which is backed by private-equity firm KKR &
Co., and owns Business Insider and Rolling Stone magazine, also
owns several online advertising and classifieds businesses.
It has been a time of tumult for eBay, a one-time internet
darling whose core marketplace business has been weakened by the
rise of Amazon.com Inc. A company that once housed fast-growing
brands ranging from PayPal to StubHub has been slowly peeling them
off as their prospects diverge from those of the marketplace.
New York Stock Exchange parent Intercontinental Exchange Inc.
recently approached eBay about buying the company, with a primary
interest in the marketplace business, but had to walk back its
interest after its own shareholders balked at the idea.
Should eBay, which has a market value of roughly $30 billion,
sell the classifieds business, it would primarily be left with its
core marketplace operation.
Two activist hedge funds, Elliott Management Corp. and Starboard
Value LP, took stakes in eBay last year and urged it to consider
selling its ticketing and classifieds businesses. Both reached
agreements with eBay that gave them board representation. In
November, eBay agreed to sell StubHub to Viagogo Entertainment Inc.
for $4.05 billion.
EBay's Chief Executive Devin Wenig stepped down from the company
in September, citing disagreements with the board that was
overseeing the company's strategic review. EBay has yet to name a
permanent replacement.
Write to Cara Lombardo at cara.lombardo@wsj.com, Corrie
Driebusch at corrie.driebusch@wsj.com and Miriam Gottfried at
Miriam.Gottfried@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 22, 2020 02:47 ET (07:47 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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