U.S. e-commerce group eBay and Norway’s Adevinta planned to sell three smaller British units in order to secure regulatory approval for a long-planned tie-up of their global classified ads businesses, the two firms said on Tuesday.
Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said last month Adevinta and eBay would have to resolve the watchdog’s concerns before proceeding with their $9.2 billion deal.
Under a deal struck last July, Adevinta will acquire eBay’s classified ads business in return for $2.5 billion in cash and 540 million shares, making the U.S. firm Adevinta’s largest shareholder with a 44% stake and 33.3% of the vote. EBay will also get two seats on Adevinta’s board.
