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eBay Closes $2.4 Billion Acquisition Of GSI Commerce

Leena Rao

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Leena Rao is currently a Senior Editor for TechCrunch. She recently finished graduate school at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, where she studied business journalism and videography. From 2004 to 2007, she helped lead Congresswoman Carloyn Maloney’s community outreach and relations efforts in New York City. She graduated from Columbia University in 2003, where she was... → Learn More

Monday, June 20th, 2011
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eBay announced its $2.4 billion acquisition GSI Commerce in March, and today the e-commerce giant has announced that the deal has been closed. In a release, eBay said that GSI’s stock holders approved the deal late last week, with the merger closing on June 17.

With more than 180 customers across 14 merchandise categories, GSI has long-term commerce services relationships with a wealth of retailers and brands. eBay says it expects GSI clients to benefit from eBay’s Marketplaces and PayPal services, particularly.

As we wrote last week, a lawsuit was filed in late March by an investor, claiming that the $2.4 billion offer at $29.95 per share was a “bargain price.” eBay and GSI subsequently settled the suit, with GSI Shareholders receiving GSI $0.33 a share (separate from the $29.25 per share payout), bringing the total acquisition and merger price to roughly $3 billion.

For eBay, GSI Commerce was its second largest acquisition ever. The company’s previous big dollar acquisitions include PayPal for $1.5 billion and Skype for $4.1 billion.

GSI Commerce will operate as a separate business unit led by Chris Saridakis as president. Saridakis will report to eBay CEO and President John Donahoe. eBay has also divested a number of GSI’s former properties, including 100 epercent of GSI’s sports merchandise business and 70 percent of both Rue La La and Shop Runner. These businesses will be part of a newly formed holding company led by GSI founder and former CEO Michael Rubin and will be completely separate from eBay and GSI.

Crunchbase

Company: eBay
Website: ebay.com
Launch Date: September 1, 1995
IPO: February 10, 1998, NASDAQ:EBAY

Founded in 1995 in San Jose, CA, eBay connects millions of buyers and sellers globally in the world’s largest online marketplace, utilizing PayPal to ensure secure transactions. The company also operates specialized marketplaces such as StubHub, the world’s largest ticket marketplace, and eBay Classifieds sites, which together have a presence in more than 1,000 cities around the world. eBay items can be sold either via a silent auction, in which users input the maximum price they are willing to...

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