EBay Classifieds Unit Sale To Norway's Adevinta Could Be Announced Today: WSJ

EBay Inc. EBAY is nearing a deal to sell its classified-ads business to Norwegian marketplace operator Adevinta ASA ADEVF, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

What Happened

The classified-ads business may be sold for approximately $8 billion, people familiar with the matter told the Journal, although the exact pricing of the deal couldn't be learned.

The online auction website’s classifieds unit mainly operates across Canada and parts of Europe. The workings of the unit are similar to rival Craigslist, which allows users to post goods and services within a locale. 

The cash-and-stock deal is likely to be announced later in the day, unless the talks fall through, according to the Journal's sources.

Why It Matters

The classifieds business brought in $ 1.1 billion in revenue last year compared to the $7.6 billion total revenue eBay generated from its marketplace, the Journal noted.

The San Jose, California-based auction firm is said to be shedding non-core businesses at the urging of its activist investors. The classifieds unit is one of the last such remaining entities with the former tech conglomerate.

In November 2019, eBay sold its ticket-sales unit StarHub to Viagogo for $4.05 billion in cash.

Price Action 

EBay shares closed nearly 0.9% lower at $58.13 on Friday and fell another 0.5% in the after-hours session at $57.83.

Adevinta shares last closed at $12.32 on Thursday.

Photo credit: eBay Inc.