eBay Sells Part of its Adevinta Shares to Comply with Competition Authorities

Adevinta has this morning announced that it is to welcome a new institutional investor in the shape of global private equity fund Permira.

As part of the $9.2 billion deal to purchase eBay's classifieds division, which was finally tied up last month after nearly a year, eBay took a 44% stake in Adevinta to retain some control over its classifieds division. The silicon valley firm is now selling off a 10.2% stake in Adevinta to funds managed by Permira with a 30-day option to offload a further 10 million shares at the same price to reduce its interest to 33%.

In doing so, eBay is complying with the stipulation that said it needed to own no more than 33% of Adevinta within 18 months of the deal's completion in order to clear regulatory hurdles related to competition concerns in Austria (where Adevinta owns Wilhaben, a direct competitor of eBay).

As part of the shareholder shakeup which is expected to be completed in Q4 of 2021, Permira Partner Dipan Patel will join the Adevinta board. Commenting on his firm's new investment, Patel said:

“We have long been admirers of Adevinta and are delighted to make this investment. Adevinta is home to some of the most iconic online classifieds brands, combining growth, scale, margin and economic resilience. With leading positions in 16 countries covering one billion consumers, the Company is situated right at the heart of the rapidly transforming auto, real estate and jobs end markets, as well as the second-hand economy at a critical juncture for sustainable commerce.” 

Since tying up the eBay Classifieds deal, Adevinta's share price has been gaining steadily and yesterday the stock was trading close to all-time highs of NOK 183.