SAN JOSE, Calif. & ISTANBUL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) today announced that it has agreed to acquire
additional shares in GittiGidiyor, the leading online marketplace in
Turkey. The deal follows eBay's acquisition of a minority stake in the
company in 2007. Upon closing of the transaction, eBay will own
approximately 93% of the outstanding shares of GittiGidiyor. Terms of
the deal were not disclosed.
Launched on February 5, 2001, GittiGidiyor (www.GittiGidiyor.com)
has more than 6.4 million registered users. The company's business model
is complementary to eBay's with the addition of a mandatory escrow
service for payments between buyer and seller. Today, all of
GittiGidiyor's transactions come from fixed price listings with the
largest categories being Fashion and Consumer Electronics, which are
also among eBay's top shopping experiences.
Doug McCallum, senior vice president for eBay in Europe, said: "We knew
that when we acquired a stake in GittiGidiyor that we were buying into
an excellent business in an exciting ecommerce market. Since 2007, we
have been impressed with GittiGidiyor, its people, its VC investor iLab
and its successful approach to ecommerce. There is a lot that we can
learn from GittiGidiyor, and much we can share."
Turkey is the world's 12th largest market for Internet usage,
with a penetration rate of 45% according to Internet World Stats1.
GittiGidiyor, which was founded by Serkan Borançılı, Burak Divanlıoğlu
and Tolga Kabataş, is headquartered in Istanbul, Turkey and employs over
150 people. In addition to eBay, the company previously raised capital
from iLab Ventures, founded and led by Mustafa E. Say.
"Becoming an eBay company is a source of great pride for GittiGidiyor,"
said Serkan Borançılı, chairman of GittiGidiyor's board of directors.
"By being fully part of eBay, we can accelerate our development, benefit
from world class best practices and consolidate our leadership position
in one of Europe's fastest growing ecommerce markets."
Mustafa E. Say, Founder and Chairman of iLab, an early investor in
GittiGidiyor, said: "GittiGidiyor's growth is testament to the Founding
Partners who are among the leading new generation entreprenuers that
aspiring young start-ups in Turkey can look up to. At iLab, we are
excited about our continuing partnership with eBay and the potential
growth still ahead of GittiGidiyor."
eBay does not expect this investment to have a material impact on its
financial guidance as issued both in conjunction with its fourth quarter
earnings release on January 19, 2011 and updated on March 28, 2011. The
transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including
regulatory approval, and is expected to close in the second quarter of
2011.
About eBay
Founded in 1995 in San Jose, Calif., eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) connects
hundreds of millions of buyers and sellers globally on a daily basis
through eBay, the world's largest online marketplace, and PayPal, which
enables individuals and businesses to securely, easily and quickly send
and receive online payments. We also reach millions through specialized
marketplaces such as StubHub, the world's largest ticket marketplace,
and eBay Classifieds sites, which together have a presence in more than
1,000 cities around the world. For more information about the company
and our global portfolio of online brands, visit www.ebayinc.com.
About GittiGidiyor
Founded in 2001, in Istanbul, GittiGidiyor.com is the leading online
marketplace of Turkey with 6.4 million registered users, 500 thousand
daily visitors and 2.5 million live listings. More than 10 million
ecommerce transactions have successfully been completed so far via the
mandatory escrow service innovated by its founders. Today, the company
has over 150 employees. For more information about the company, visit www.GittiGidiyor.com.
About iLab:
iLab Ventures is Turkey's leading internet investment company with more
than 10 fast-growing online businesses, including online recruitment,
private shopping, consumer credit lead referral, travel guide, consumer
insurance comparison and sales platform, 2 global B2B verticals for
steel and polimers. The iLab network of online businesses have over 45
million total monthy visits and more than 20 million unique visitors.
Prior to today's announced acquisition of eBay of further shares in
GittiGidiyor, iLab and its affiliates owned an 18% stake in the company.
Post-closing, iLab will retain a 7% stake in GittiGidiyor. For more
information about the company, visit www.ilab.com.tr.
Forward-Looking Statement
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that involve risks
and uncertainties, and actual results could differ materially from those
discussed. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences
include, but are not limited to, the receipt and timing of regulatory
approval for the transaction, the possibility that the transaction may
not close, the reaction of the users of GittiGidiyor's services, the
future growth of GittiGidiyor's business, the reaction of competitors to
the transaction and the possibility that integration following the
transaction may be more difficult than expected. More information about
potential factors which could affect our business and results is
included in eBay's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2010, its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, its Current
Reports on Form 8-K, and other periodic filings. All forward-looking
statements are based on information available to eBay on the date
hereof, and eBay assumes no obligation to update such statements.
1 http://www.internetworldstats.com/
World Internet User Statistics. Updated June 30, 2010
eBay US Press Hotline
John Pluhowski
press@ebay.com
or
GittiGidiyor
(90-216)
577 21 36
bilgi@GittiGidiyor.com
Source: eBay Inc.
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