Activists call for another eBay spinoff

Article Excerpt

eBay spun off its PayPal transaction-processing business in July 2015. Since then, eBay shares has gained 38%. Over that same time, PayPal has jumped 170%. Two activist investors have now targeted eBay. They want the company to spin off its classified ad and StubHub ticket re-selling operations. (In our January 2018 issue, we felt the company was in a strong position to spin off these businesses.) So far, eBay has resisted the pressure of its activist investors, but their involvement helps draw attention to the company’s prospects. At the same time, eBay aims to spur its value with share buybacks and dividends. EBAY INC. $36 (Nasdaq symbol EBAY; Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 914.9 million; Market cap: $32.9 billion; Dividend yield: 1.6%; Takeover Target Rating: Medium; www.ebay.com) operates e-commerce websites where sellers pay fees to auction items or offer them at fixed prices. The company also operates several other websites, including StubHub (ticket sales). These services are in addition to its local websites (among them Kijiji in…