eBay Classifieds Group Attracts More Interest Ahead of May 21 Interim Bidding Round

Blackstone, Hellman & Friedman and Permira are in talks to team up on a bid for eBay’s mostly European classifieds division sources familiar with the matter told Dealreporter, which covers mergers and acquisitions.

Other private equity firms interested in the business include Cinven, Apax, Silverlake and General Atlantic which may also look to team up with bidders. According to Dealreporter sources, an interim bidding round is scheduled for May 21.

In February, before the Coronavirus crisis emerged in the U.S, the Wall Street Journal reported eBay had several interested parties in the Classifieds Group.

It was believed the eBay Classifieds Group could fetch around $10 billion, but it is unclear if the valuation can still hold.

Many of the individual properties that make up the eBay Classifieds Group are in the automotive field, which has plummeted since the coronavirus swept through Europe and North America.

eBay has not responded to this report as it broke this afternoon. This is a developing story.

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Richard Meldner

Richard is co-founder of eSeller365. He has over 17 years of experience on eBay which includes tens of thousands of sales to buyers in over 100 countries and even has experience with eBay’s VeRO program enforcing intellectual property rights for a former employer. And for about two years Richard sold products on Amazon using Amazon FBA in the US.

To “relax” from the daily business grind, for a few weekends a year, he also works for IMSA as a professional race official.