SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
I am eBay Inc.'s founder, board chairman and largest shareholder.
A new eBay shareholder, Carl Icahn, is making unsubstantiated claims
about our company -- and deliberately impugning the integrity of our
directors.
After acquiring a stake in our company, Mr. Icahn asked a good question:
should PayPal continue to be part of eBay? This is not a new idea. It is
a question our board has asked ourselves as we periodically evaluate
strategic options for the company.
Our board is deeply committed to doing what's in the best interests of
shareholders. After diligent consideration, we believe that PayPal and
eBay are better together. In the future, if we determine that's no
longer true, we will act accordingly and in the best interests of
shareholders and the company.
Instead of having an honest discussion about a reasonable question, Mr.
Icahn has chosen to attack the integrity of two highly respected and
qualified board members, Scott Cook and Marc Andreessen. He also has
attacked the integrity of our CEO John Donahoe.
Mr. Icahn's attacks are false and misleading.
I want to be clear about the facts:
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We have a world-class board. Scott and Marc are world-class directors
with impeccable credentials. They have my full support. Our company
and our shareholders benefit greatly from having Scott's and Marc's
insight, experience and leadership on our board.
-
John Donahoe has my full support, and the strong support of our board.
Over the last six years, John has led our company through a
significant turnaround - a job many people thought was impossible. In
the process, he has driven PayPal's growth and brought a renewed focus
on innovation across the company.
The company has fully addressed other false claims made by Mr. Icahn.
The facts can be found here
and here.
Let me underscore a few points:
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Throughout the board's process of divesting Skype, Marc Andreessen
recused himself from all deliberations on the transaction, including
all discussions, negotiations, and decisions. eBay and its
shareholders benefitted from the divestiture of Skype and its ultimate
sale to Microsoft. The transactions were widely seen as a superb
outcome for the company.
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Subsequent to the Skype transaction, Marc was re-elected to our board
in 2012 with virtually unanimous support (99.7% of votes) of our
shareholders. Like all of our directors, Marc serves at the pleasure
of our shareholders, and our shareholders have spoken.
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Mr. Icahn also makes unfounded claims about Andreessen Horowitz and
its investment in Fanatics, a business formerly owned by GSI Commerce,
which was acquired by eBay. Mr. Icahn's claims are wrong. Andreessen
Horowitz made its investment in Fanatics more than a year after eBay
divested it. There was absolutely no connection between the two events.
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Mr. Icahn's claims about Scott Cook also are unfounded. As founder of
Intuit and chairman of the company's executive committee, Scott has an
exceptional track record of creating value and driving innovation. He
has been an enormous asset to eBay's board for many years. The overlap
between Intuit and eBay is small for both companies. Regarding hiring,
any restrictions ended years ago.
These are the facts. That's what shareholders deserve to know.
Pierre Omidyar
eBay Inc. Founder and Chairman of the Board
Important Additional Information
eBay Inc., its directors and certain of its executive officers are
participants in the solicitation of proxies from stockholders in
connection with eBay's 2014 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. eBay intends
to file a proxy statement and WHITE proxy card with the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") in connection with such solicitation
of proxies from eBay shareholders. EBAY STOCKHOLDERS ARE STRONGLY
ENCOURAGED TO READ ANY SUCH PROXY STATEMENT (INCLUDING ANY AMENDMENTS
AND SUPPLEMENTS) AND ACCOMPANYING WHITE PROXY CARD WHEN THEY BECOME
AVAILABLE AS THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION.
Information regarding the names of eBay's directors and executive
officers and their respective interests in eBay by security holdings or
otherwise is set forth in eBay's proxy statement for the 2013 Annual
Meeting of Stockholders, filed with the SEC on March 18, 2013. To the
extent holdings of such participants in eBay's securities have changed
since the amounts described in the 2013 proxy statement, such changes
have been reflected on Initial Statements of Beneficial Ownership on
Form 3 or Statements of Change in Ownership on Form 4 filed with the
SEC. Additional information can also be found in eBay's Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, filed with the SEC on
January 31, 2014.
These documents, including any proxy statement (and amendments or
supplements thereto) and other documents filed by eBay with the SEC, are
available for no charge at the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov
and at eBay's investor relations website at http://investors.ebayinc.com.
Copies may also be obtained by contacting eBay Investor Relations by
mail at 2065 Hamilton Avenue, San Jose, California 95125 or by telephone
at 866-696-3229.
About eBay Inc.
eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) is a global commerce and payments leader,
providing a robust platform where merchants of all sizes can compete and
win. Founded in 1995 in San Jose, Calif., eBay Inc. connects millions of
buyers and sellers and enabled $212 billion of commerce volume in 2013.
We do so through eBay, one of the world's largest online marketplaces,
which allows users to buy and sell in nearly every country on earth;
through PayPal, which enables individuals and businesses to securely,
easily and quickly send and receive digital payments; and through eBay
Enterprise, which enables omnichannel commerce, multichannel retailing
and digital marketing for global enterprises in the U.S. and
internationally. 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 its
global portfolio of online brands, visit www.ebayinc.com.
Investor Relations Contact:
Tracey Ford; Tom Hudson
tford@ebay.com;
thhudson@ebay.com
or
Media
Relations Contact:
Amanda Miller
press@ebay.com
or
Investor
Information Request:
408-376-7493
or
Company News:
http://www.ebayinc.com/news
or
Investor
Relations website:
http://investors.ebayinc.com
Source: eBay Inc.
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