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Constantine
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Seems like this is more of a hypothetical thought by a research analyst but seems like it could happen at the same time too. I hadn't heard that eBay was under pressure to spin off Paypal. I always thought that with the two together, they had a monopoly on our fees as sellers.
Google-eBay merger suggested as alternative to PayPal spinoff
Forget breaking up eBay (EBAY) and PayPal. Google (GOOG) should acquire them both in a merger to create an Internet colossus, Baird Equity Research analyst Colin Sebastian suggested Monday.
E-commerce website eBay is under pressure from activist investor Carl Icahn to spin off its electronic payment service PayPal. EBay executives have resisted Icahn's calls for a breakup designed to unlock shareholder value. In a report Monday, Sebastian said a merger of Google and eBay would be a "best of both worlds" opportunity. A Google-eBay combination is a "potentially more attractive option (that) is missing from the discussion."
A merger would unlock value for eBay shareholders and help solve two of Google's competitive shortcomings: payments and e-commerce, Sebastian said. Google Wallet and Google Checkout are payments and e-com operations, respectively, for Google. "Google has unmatched strength in search and engineering; however, struggles with Wallet and Checkout are well documented, and the company is lacking scale with two key pieces of the platform puzzle: Payments (including credit card and transaction data) and E-commerce (marketplace)," Sebastian wrote. "We believe acquiring eBay/PayPal would be one way for Google to secure quickly a strong leadership position in commerce and payments, and likewise, could represent a better strategic option than alternatives proposed for eBay."
Google and eBay would be stronger together in the "technology and user arms race" that is unfolding among Amazon.com (AMZN), Apple (AAPL) and Facebook (FB), he said.
Google potentially could offer a 40% to 50% premium for eBay over its Friday closing price of 57, Sebastian said.
EBay stock was up 1%, near 57, in early afternoon trading on the stock market today. Google was up 1.8%, near 1,194.
Investor's Business Daily
Google-eBay merger suggested as alternative to PayPal spinoff
Forget breaking up eBay (EBAY) and PayPal. Google (GOOG) should acquire them both in a merger to create an Internet colossus, Baird Equity Research analyst Colin Sebastian suggested Monday.
E-commerce website eBay is under pressure from activist investor Carl Icahn to spin off its electronic payment service PayPal. EBay executives have resisted Icahn's calls for a breakup designed to unlock shareholder value. In a report Monday, Sebastian said a merger of Google and eBay would be a "best of both worlds" opportunity. A Google-eBay combination is a "potentially more attractive option (that) is missing from the discussion."
A merger would unlock value for eBay shareholders and help solve two of Google's competitive shortcomings: payments and e-commerce, Sebastian said. Google Wallet and Google Checkout are payments and e-com operations, respectively, for Google. "Google has unmatched strength in search and engineering; however, struggles with Wallet and Checkout are well documented, and the company is lacking scale with two key pieces of the platform puzzle: Payments (including credit card and transaction data) and E-commerce (marketplace)," Sebastian wrote. "We believe acquiring eBay/PayPal would be one way for Google to secure quickly a strong leadership position in commerce and payments, and likewise, could represent a better strategic option than alternatives proposed for eBay."
Google and eBay would be stronger together in the "technology and user arms race" that is unfolding among Amazon.com (AMZN), Apple (AAPL) and Facebook (FB), he said.
Google potentially could offer a 40% to 50% premium for eBay over its Friday closing price of 57, Sebastian said.
EBay stock was up 1%, near 57, in early afternoon trading on the stock market today. Google was up 1.8%, near 1,194.
Investor's Business Daily
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