eBay completes multi-billion dollar sale of StubHub

eBay is officially out of the online ticket resale business, to the tune of $4 billion.

The e-commerce company has completed the $4.05 billion USD sale of its StubHub subsidiary to Swiss online ticket marketplace Viagogo. The companies entered a definitive sale agreement in November 2019, and the sale occurred within the expected timeframe.

Viagogo is a worldwide ticket marketplace for live sport, music and entertainment events, and StubHub is a ticket marketplace in the U.S. Combined, these marketplaces will sell hundreds of thousands of tickets daily across more than 70 countries. Eric Baker, Viagogo’s founder and CEO, also co-founded StubHub, but left before the business was sold to eBay for $310 million in 2007.

"The completed sale of StubHub to Viagogo is a great outcome both in terms of the $4.05 billion sale price and the potential StubHub has with its new owner," said Scott Schenkel, interim CEO of eBay Inc. "The StubHub transaction reinforces our commitment to creating shareholder value and is consistent with other steps we have taken such as margin improvement, share buybacks and issuing dividends. We are operating with discipline and focus, improving financial performance and delivering improved customer experiences. On behalf of the eBay team, we're excited to see how StubHub evolves in its next phase and benefits fans, partners and employees."

The completion of this transaction results in net proceeds of $3.1 billion. With the divestiture of StubHub complete, eBay now expects net revenue between $2.31 billion and $2.36 billion in the first quarter of 2020, reflecting the impact of removing StubHub. The company now expects GAAP earnings per diluted share in the range of $0.54 - $0.57 and non-GAAP earnings per diluted share in the range of $0.72 - $0.75. The increase versus previous guidance reflects the benefit of share buybacks and investment timing, partially offset by the impact of removing StubHub.

For the full year 2020, eBay now expects net revenue between $9.56 billion and $9.76 billion, reflecting the impact of removing StubHub. The company now expects GAAP earnings per diluted share in the range of $2.20 - $2.30 and non-GAAP earnings per diluted share in the range of $3.00 - $3.10. The increase versus previous guidance reflects the benefit of share buybacks, partially offset by the impact of removing StubHub.