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US: eBay agrees to sell StubHub in $4.05B deal

By  |  November 25, 2019

In a deal announced Monday (Nov. 25) that values StubHub at approximately $4 billion, eBay Inc. has agreed to sell the ticketing business to Viagogo Entertainment Inc. The marketplace decided to look into selling StubHub after two activist investors encouraged the company to leave businesses that were not related to its core marketplace, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The sale of StubHub to the Swiss ticket reselling marketplace is reportedly for $4.05 billion in cash.

The firm agreed to look into selling its internationally focused Classified business as well as StubHub. It also brought on board members as part of its settlement with Starboard Value LP and Elliott Management Corp. Elliott had noted that the classified business of eBay could sell for $8 billion to $12 billion and StubHub could sell for $3.5 billion to $4.5 billion.

eBay has owned StubHub as of 2007, at the time that it purchased the company for $310 million. And, in the third quarter, StubHub comprised roughly 14 percent of the company’s revenue. It is described as one of the most popular platforms to sell as well as buy tickets to sports, concerts and other events.

Viagogo, on the other hand, is an online marketplace for the resale of music, entertainment and live sports tickets. Both companies are involved in ticket resale, but WSJ noted, “Viagogo is a significant player internationally, while StubHub is mostly present in the US”

At the time of its third-quarter earnings results in October, the online marketplace operator noted that it planned to update whether it will sell StubHub in the coming weeks. The company said in its earnings release that “eBay continues to review the role and value of StubHub and Classifieds in its portfolio to determine the best path forward and anticipates sharing an update on the StubHub business before the next earnings release.”

The third quarter results came after September’s announcement that Devin Wenig stepped down from the chief executive officer role, a position he had since July 2015.