EBay to sell StubHub to Viagogo for about $4 billion in cash
Published Mon, Nov 25 20198:38 AM EST
Updated 8 min ago
Elly Cosgrove @EllyCosgrove
CNBC.com
- EBay plans to sell StubHub to Swiss ticket vendor Viagogo for about $4 billion.
- The sale is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2020, subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions.
- Viagogo CEO Eric Baker co-founded StubHub while in business school and left before the company was sold to eBay for $310 million in 2007, according to a release on Monday.
EBay on Monday announced plans to sell StubHub to Swiss ticket vendor Viagogo for $4.05 billion in cash.
The sale is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2020, subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions.
Ebay shares jumped roughly 2% on the news.
Viagogo CEO Eric Baker co-founded StubHub while in business school. He left before StubHub was sold to eBay for $310 million in 2007, according to the release. “It has long been my wish to unite the two companies,” Baker said.
The companies are likely to operate independently for some time while executives examine the best way to integrate the businesses, representatives for eBay and Viagogo told CNBC.
“The combined company will allow StubHub and Viagogo to realize efficiencies to re-invest in innovation,” the eBay spokesperson said.
There are no leadership changes as a part of Monday’s announcement, according to the spokespeople.
Interim eBay CEO Scott Schenkel told CNBC’s David Faber that proceeds from the deal will be put towards buybacks, dividends, and M&A investing, he said on CNBC’s “ Squawk on the Street” Monday morning.
Faber reported in July that eBay was moving forward with a potential sale of StubHub. The news followed eBay’s announcement that it was conducting a strategic portfolio review on March 1.
“Over the past several months, eBay’s leadership team and Board of Directors have been engaged in a thorough review of our current strategies and portfolio, and we concluded that this was the best path forward for both eBay and StubHub,” Schenkel said in Monday’s release.
When combined, StubHub and Viagogo will sell tickets across more than 70 countries, “giving fans seamless access to a wider selection of inventory around the world, while sellers, teams and artists will have the ability to more effectively reach a broader global audience,” the release said.
CNBC reached out to StubHub for further comment but has not immediately received a response.
The Wall Street Journal was the first to report this news on Monday.
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