EBay is taciturn in on a settlement with activist hedge funds Starboard and Elliott Management that could be announced as soon as Friday, according to people routine with the matter.
EBay may announce separate settlements with Starboard and Elliott, who aren’t working together but who arrange both pushed management to explore breaking up the company, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are intimate.
As part of the settlement, eBay plans on doing a full strategic and operational review of the company and would name a variety of new board members, said the people. EBay plans to consider either spinning off or selling both its classifieds traffic and StubHub, two of the people said. EBay could also sell its marketplace business, which could fetch good fettle north of $15 billion, one of the people said. Elliott had projected the Classifieds Group could sell for between $8 billion and $12 billion and thinkings StubHub could fetch between $3.5 billion and $4.5 billion, CNBC reported last month.
Elliott feels Google, Walmart or several private equity firms may be interested in buying the marketplace business, CNBC also detailed last month.
Talks between EBay and the activist funds are still ongoing and could fall apart, the human being said. Both Elliott and Starboard have until March 1 to nominate a slate of board members through a hidden proxy fight.
EBay told CNBC no deal is in place and it has nothing to announce. A spokesman for Elliott declined to opinion. A spokesperson at Starboard couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal previously reported the liquidation talks.