EBay close to settlement with activists, Elliott board seats possible

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eBay’s headquarters in San Jose, California, U.S.

EBay is closing in on a settlement with activist hedge funds Starboard and Elliott Management that could be announced as soon as Friday, according to people familiar with the matter.

EBay may announce separate settlements with Starboard and Elliott, who aren’t working together but who have both pushed management to explore breaking up the company, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private.

As part of the settlement, eBay plans on doing a full strategic and operational review of the company and would name several new board members, said the people. EBay plans to consider either spinning off or selling both its classifieds business and StubHub, two of the people said. EBay could also sell its marketplace business, which could fetch well 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 estimates StubHub could fetch between $3.5 billion and $4.5 billion, CNBC reported last month.

Talks between EBay and the activist funds are still ongoing and could fall apart, the person said. Both Elliott and Starboard have until March 1 to nominate a slate of board members through a potential proxy fight.

EBay told CNBC no deal is in place and it has nothing to announce. Spokespeople from Elliott and Starboard declined to comment.

Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal previously reported the settlement talks.