E-Tailer Fancy Looking For Buyer After Fund Raising Efforts Stall

Customer-curated Web retailer Fancy is in talks to sell itself to eBay for about $1 billion after struggling to raise financing, according to Bloomberg.

Neither company would confirm the sale negotiations, which Bloomberg attributed to unnamed sources.

Fancy has been trying to raise a round of financing at a valuation of around $1.2 billion. The New York-based startup raised $60 million in two Series C rounds last year from investors that included American Express, billionaire Len Blavatnik and actor Will Smith.

But Fancy has reportedly been trying unsuccessfully to find investors for more funding at such a high valuation. That has led to talks with strategic buyers, sources said. For its part, eBay said in April that it will return $9 billion in offshore profits to the U.S., which could be used for acquisitions.

Fancy sells luxury lifestyle items such as $9 waterproof lights to put in cocktails, $205 magnetic coat hangers and a $120 bird feeder that connects with an iPhone to take pictures of birds. When customers like an item they can buy it or click to “fancy” it, giving it higher prominence on the site. The items can be bought without leaving Fancy’s website.