Addition of Den Bla Avis and BilBasen Strengthen eBay’s
Multi-Brand Portfolio of Online Classifieds Businesses
eBay Inc. (Nasdaq:EBAY) today announced it has acquired Den Bla Avis and
BilBasen, providers of leading online classifieds sites in Denmark for a
purchase price of approximately $390 million (approximately 2.1 billion
Danish Kroner). The addition of Den Bla Avis (dba.dk) and BilBasen
(bilbasen.dk) to eBay’s global classifieds
portfolio positions the company as a leader in the online classifieds
market in Denmark and further strengthens the company’s
world-leading portfolio of online classifieds sites that already
includes Marktplaats, Kijiji, LoQUo, Gumtree and mobile.de. eBay’s
online classifieds business now has a presence in more than 20 countries
and 1,000 cities.
“Classifieds are the preferred e-commerce
format in Denmark and represent an attractive and growing market,”
said Jacob Aqraou, general manager, eBay global classifieds business
unit. “With more than 25 years of classifieds
success in Denmark, Den Bla Avis and BilBasen are household names with
Danish consumers and we’re very excited to
welcome them and all of their employees to the eBay global classifieds
portfolio.”
Aqraou continued, “The Den Bla Avis and
BilBasen corporate cultures and approach to the user experience are a
great fit within eBay’s overall Marketplaces
business, which provides anyone, anywhere the e-commerce platform of
their choice. We are committed to providing the ideal classifieds
platform for Danish consumers to connect locally.”
According to research and consulting firm Classifieds Intelligence, the
worldwide classified ads industry tops $100 billion in all forms. With
the continued migration of print classifieds to online, eBay is
capitalizing on the market dynamics with an aggressive growth strategy
for its global classifieds portfolio. For the second quarter of 2008,
eBay’s global classifieds business reported
revenue growth of 65 percent over the same period last year and averaged
81 million unique visitors per month, representing an increase of 121
percent year-over-year.
Larry Illg, general manager with eBay global classifieds, will head eBay’s
business in Denmark and will lead the integration of Den Bla Avis and
BilBasen into the global classifieds portfolio. eBay plans to use its
experience in building online communities around the world to grow user
traffic to dba.dk and bilbasen.dk. Den Bla Avis and BilBasen will
maintain offices in Aarhus and Copenhagen, Denmark.
eBay Inc.
