The Norwegian online ad specialist Adevinta, parent company of Leboncoin, announced on Tuesday the acquisition of the assets of the American giant eBay in this area for nearly 9.2 billion dollars (8 billion euros), claiming the birth of the number a global sector.
The transaction must be completed by the first quarter of 2021
Under the terms of the agreement to take control of eBay Classified Groups, which includes the Gumtree and Kijiji sites, Adevinta will pay eBay $ 2.5 billion in cash and 540 million shares corresponding to 44% of the capital, the Norwegian company said in a statement. On the other hand, eBay's voting rights will be capped at 33.3%, via certain non-voting shares, specifies Adevinta. The transaction must be completed by the first quarter of 2021.
Born last year from a split from Schibsted, which until now remained its majority shareholder with around 59% of the capital, Adevinta is present in 15 countries in Europe, Latin America and North Africa.
Following the transaction, "Schibsted's share will drop from 59 to 33% of the capital," says Adevinta. The operation allows the Norwegian group to double in size. At the close of the stock market on Friday evening, the group, whose action was suspended due to an imminent announcement, was valued at nearly 7.4 billion euros.
>> READ ALSO - Leboncoin beats "historical audience records", sign of an economic recovery
France, where it owns Leboncoin and L'Argus among others, accounts for around half of its overall turnover and most of its profits. Besides Gumtree and Kijiji, eBay's branch in online ads includes sites like Mobile.de, Marktplaats, dba, Bilbasen, 2dehands, 2ememain, Vivanuncios, Automobile.it, Motors.co.uk, Autotrader (Australia), Carsguide (Australia) or eBay Kleinanzeigen.
According to several Anglo-Saxon media, another specialist in online commerce, Prosus, and a consortium including in particular the funds Blackstone and Hellman & Friedman were also in the running for the takeover.
Schibsted directly takes over eBay's classifieds business in Denmark for $ 330 million, reducing Adevinta's cash expenditure to $ 2.17 billion.