SAN JOSE, July 20 — Norwegian group Adevinta has won the auction to buy US e-commerce firm EBay Inc’s classified-ads unit for nearly US$9 billion (RM38 billion), a source familiar with the matter told Reuters today.

EBay intends to keep a minority stake in the business following the close of the deal, the source said.

Activist investors Elliott Management Corp and Starboard Value had been pushing Ebay to sell the unit.

The deal comes at a time when the coronavirus pandemic has boosted demand for online market places as consumers turned to online shopping due to prolonged lockdowns and social distancing measures in most countries.

Advertisement

Ebay’s classified business includes brands such as Gumtree and Kijiji and offers online ads to more than 1,000 cities around the world.

The unit posted an operating income of US$83 million and revenue of US$248 million in the first quarter of 2020.

Last week Reuters reported that the US e-commerce giant had offers submitted by online retailer Prosus, a private equity consortium and Adevinta.

Advertisement

EBay did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, while a spokesman for Adevinta declined to comment. — Reuters