SAN JOSE, Calif., June 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- eBay Inc.
(Nasdaq: EBAY), a global commerce leader that connects millions of
buyers and sellers around the world, today announced that it has
completed the transfer of its Classifieds business to Adevinta in
exchange for $2.5 billion in cash and
a 44% equity stake in Adevinta, equivalent to approximately 540
million shares.
"We are pleased to finalize the deal between Adevinta and eBay
Classifieds, where the combination of these two companies will
create a leading global online classifieds business," said
Jamie Iannone, Chief Executive
Officer, eBay. "By joining Adevinta, the eBay Classifieds' business
has an enormous opportunity ahead. We are optimistic that the
breadth of talent and collective experience across the combined
portfolio will offer additional value for our customers, employees
and shareholders."
The completion of this transaction results in after tax net cash
proceeds of approximately $2 billion. With this transfer
complete, the Company is updating its capital allocation plans for
2021 by increasing its estimated share buyback from $2.0 billion to $5.0
billion.
The Company has agreed to reduce its ownership stake in Adevinta
to 33% or less over the next 18 months, as part of remedies it
proposed to resolve the competition concerns raised by the Austrian
regulatory authorities. Proceeds from this reduction will be
deployed in a manner consistent with eBay's capital allocation
tenets and targets.
Please reference the 8-K eBay filed today for further
information.
About eBay
eBay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY) is a global
commerce leader that connects millions of buyers and sellers in 190
markets around the world. We exist to enable economic opportunity
for individuals, entrepreneurs, businesses and organizations of all
sizes. 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. In 2020, eBay enabled $100
billion of gross merchandise volume. For more information
about the company and its global portfolio of online brands,
visit www.ebayinc.com.
About Adevinta
Adevinta is a global online classifieds
specialist, operating digital marketplaces in 16 countries. The
company provides technology-based services to connect buyers with
sellers and to facilitate transactions, from job offers to real
estate, cars, consumer goods and more.
Adevinta's portfolio spans more than 40 digital brands, covering
one billion people and attracting approximately three billion
average monthly visits. Leading brands include top-ranked leboncoin
in France, Germany's leading classifieds sites
mobile.de and eBay Kleinanzeigen, Marktplaats in
the Netherlands, Kijiji in
Canada, fotocasa and InfoJobs in
Spain, and 50% of fast-growing OLX
Brasil. Adevinta spun off from Schibsted ASA and publicly listed in
Oslo, Norway in 2019. Adevinta
employs 6,300 people committed to supporting users and customers
daily. Find out more at Adevinta.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains
forward-looking statements relating to, among other things, the
future performance of eBay Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries
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 potential
benefits of the transaction with Adevinta ASA (the "Transaction"),
the impact of the Transaction on future results, the Company's
stock buyback activity and plans to reduce the Company's stake in
Adevinta. 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,
the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of COVID-19
on our business and operations and on the general economy,
including effects on our sellers and customers, any regional or
general economic downturn or crisis and any conditions that affect
e-commerce growth or cross-border trade; the company's ability to
realize expected growth opportunities in payments intermediation
and advertising; 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 a 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; 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; the company's ability to integrate, manage
and grow businesses that have been acquired or may be acquired in
the future; the possibility that eBay may not fully realize the
projected benefits of the Transaction; and the reaction of
customers and other persons to the Transaction.
The forward-looking statements in this release do not include
the potential impact of any acquisitions or divestitures that may
be announced and/or completed after the date hereof.
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.