Starboard Says eBay 'Deeply Undervalued,' Calls For Classifieds Spin-Off

Activist investor Starboard Value sent a letter to eBay Inc EBAY on Tuesday calling the company ‘'deeply undervalued,” and said it sees significant opportunities through operational and strategic initiatives.

Last year, eBay agreed to sell its ticketing unit StubHub after coming under pressure from Starboard and Elliott Management Corp.

The e-commerce platform committed to an operating review to “target operational excellence … in order to drive enhanced revenue and operating income growth” and a strategic review “of its asset portfolio, including but not limited to StubHub and eBay Classifieds Group," Starboard said in the letter.

Not enough progress has been made by eBay in the 12 months since the commitments were made, Starboard managing member Peter Field said in the letter.
“No clarity has been provided on a separation of classifieds, the operating review targets anticipate only limited margin expansion while revenue growth has continued to decelerate, and the company has neither added a new director nor announced the departure of an incumbent independent director.”

Starboard Value says it hopes and expects to continue an open and constructive dialogue regarding ways to create value at eBay.

The stock was trading 0.61% higher at $34.60 at the time of publication Tuesday. The stock has a 52-week high of $42 and a 52-week low of $33.53.

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