News has surfaced that the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority have finally gone ahead and approved Norway’s Adevinta acquisition of eBay Classifieds after the companies agreed to sell Gumtree UK and Shpock.
eBay have been trying to complete a $9.2B deal to sell the eBay Classifieds business to Adevinta, but the UK’s UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) got involved and didn’t like the potential reduction in competition for the UK market. According to The CMA the transaction between eBay and Adevinta could pose a risk to competition in the UK due to higher prices and less choice for consumers.
But last week, the CMA announced they were approving the acquisition stating that they have accepted undertakings in lieu of reference for the anticipated acquisition by Adevinta ASA of eBay Classifieds Group from eBay Inc., and eBay Inc.’s acquisition of a minority stake in Adevinta ASA. Adevinta announced that they welcomed the approval and continue to aim for completion of the acquisition in Q2 of 2021 as previously stated. The acquisition agreement means that Liechtenstein’s investment group and online marketplace operator RussMedia Equity Partners will be acquiring Shpock whilst Gumtree still waits for a definitive buyer.
