EBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) have announced that they have sold StubHub to Swiss ticket vendor Viagogo.
News broke out on Monday afternoon that the deal proposed was valued at $4.05 billion in cash.
The deal is expected to close by the first quarter of financial 2020, subject to clearance from financial authorities and competition regulation.
Neither firm is new to the world of investigation. One year go eBay launched a US lawsuit against Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) following competition breaches.
“We believe this transaction is a great outcome and maximizes long-term value for eBay shareholders,” said Scott Schenkel, interim chief executive officer of eBay Inc.
“Over the past several months, eBay’s leadership team and Board of Directors have been engaged in a thorough review of our current strategies and portfolio, and we concluded that this was the best path forward for both eBay and StubHub,” he said.
When combined, StubHub and Viagogo will sell tickets across more than 70 countries, “giving fans seamless access to a wider selection of inventory around the world, while sellers, teams and artists will have the ability to more effectively reach a broader global audience,” the release said.
Viagogo’s founder and CEO Eric Baker left StubhHub when it was sold to eBay for $310 million in 2007.
“It has long been my wish to unite the two companies,” Baker said.
Bringing StubHub and viagogo together will allow us to drive further expansion and innovation, and create a more competitive offering for live event fans globally,” said Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, president of StubHub. “This provides a great opportunity to expand our business, pursue new partnerships and execute our strategy. We expect a seamless transition for all our employees, partners and customers, and we are excited for what the future holds.”
Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) is acting as a financial advisor to eBay, whilst J.P. Morgan (NYSE: JPM) is acting as sole financial advisor and sole underwriter of the committed debt and preferred equity financings for Viagogo.
