eBay to Carl Icahn: Thanks for the Suggestion, but We’re Not Spinning Off PayPal
By Jason Del Rey
January 22, 2014, 1:52 PM PST
Carl Icahn is at it again. On the same day that the activist investor revealed a $3 billion stake in Apple, eBay said in its fourth-quarter earnings report that he had taken a stake of nearly one percent in the company and is calling for a spinoff of eBay’s fast-growing PayPal payments unit. Icahn has also nominated two of his employees for seats on eBay’s board of directors.
eBay also announced that its board had authorized a $5 billion stock repurchase program, in addition to the $600 million that still remains from a past authorization.
The company said in its filing that its board has “explored in depth a spinoff or separation of PayPal” but “has concluded that the company and its shareholders are best served by the current strategic direction of the company and does not believe that breaking up the company is the best way to maximize shareholder value.”
Or, in other words, “Thanks for the suggestion, Carl, but we’re doing just fine.”
As for the board nominations, eBay said it would pass them on to its Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee, but essentially said it’s happy with the current makeup of its board.
Your move, Carl.
The company’s fourth-quarter earnings today were relatively in line with analyst expectations: Earnings per share of 81 cents, excluding some items, on revenue of $4.53 billion, compared to analyst estimates of 80 cents on $4.54 billion.
The stock was climbing more than eight percent in after-hours trading.
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