Ebay shares jump after hedge fund Elliot calls for business revamp
Bengaluru — Hedge fund Elliott Management Corp sparked a 12% surge in shares of eBay Inc on Tuesday by urging it to sell or separate off two of its businesses, arguing the e-commerce pioneer could double its market value within two years. EBay shares, which lost a quarter of their value in 2018, rose 12.2% to $34.78 before the bell and were on course for their best performance in a year in response to the letter from one of the US financial world’s best-known activist investors.
Elliott, which owns a stake of more than 4% in eBay, said the company could raise its value to $55-$63 per share by 2020 if it implemented a five-point plan for restructuring its business. EBay did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The fund said the company should separate its ticket-sales franchise StubHub and eBay Classifieds Group from its core marketplace. It said StubHub on its own could be worth $3.5bn to $4.5bn and eBay Classifieds, which could be sold or spun off, between $8bn a...
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