Update: eBay have confirmed this story with a press release, stating that the price is $310 million. The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2007.
A vaguely social acquisition story that broke in the WSJ today: eBay is close to buying the ticket-reselling site StubHub for more than $300 million.
The acquisition could happen as early as tomorrow, although it's yet to be confirmed by eBay. StubHub sold more than $400 million worth of concert, sports and event tickets last year, and had an EBITDA of about $10 million. Founders Jeff Fluhr and Eric Baker own about 17% and 10% of the business respectively.
eBay has its own ticket marketplace, but StubHub controls more of the secondary ticket market than eBay or rival Craigslist. The bamboozling Skype acquisition, at a price of $2.6 billion without any obvious synergies, is also being referenced - perhaps eBay is getting back on track after that questionable purchase?
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