Ebay launches strategic review after activist investor pressure

Ebay has given into pressure from activist investors Elliott Management and Starboard Value to launch a strategic review of the company.

The online auction website will appoint two new board members and review the company’s Stubhub and Ebay Classifieds Group.

Read more: Ebay shares spike as activist investor Elliott reveals $1.4bn stake

Jesse Cohn of Elliott Management and Matt Murphy of Marvell Technology have join Ebay’s board and will be joined by a third independent director later this year.

Elliott Management urged Ebay to spin off or sell its ticket sales and classified ads businesses earlier this year, and revealed that it had amassed a stake of roughly £1.1bn, or four per cent, in the retail giant.

Starboard holds a stake of around one per cent in the company.

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Chief executive and president of Ebay Devin Wenig said: “Over the course of the last two months, we’ve met with a number of shareholders to understand their views.

“The bottom line is that we all share common ground: we see tremendous opportunity ahead and want to see Ebay’s full potential realised over the long-term. The initiatives we announced today are the result of this constructive dialogue.”