Cleary Gottlieb represented Adevinta ASA (Adevinta) in its $9.2 billion acquisition of eBay Classifieds Group (eCG), the classifieds arm of eBay Inc (eBay).
As part of the transaction, eBay receives $2.5 billion in cash and c. 540 million shares of Adevinta, representing a c. 33.3% voting stake and c. 44% economic stake in Adevinta. The transaction combines Adevinta and eCG’s complementary portfolios of classified assets and brands to create the world’s largest online classifieds group.
The transaction was cleared by the CMA on June 2, 2021, after it accepted undertakings from the parties to divest their primary classified ads businesses in the United Kingdom: Shpock (in the case of Adevinta) and Gumtree UK and Motors.co.uk (in the case of eCG). The CMA has approved Russmedia Equity Partners as the upfront purchaser of Shpock.
The transaction has also been unconditionally cleared by the Federal Cartel Office in Germany on November 23, 2020, and is expected to complete later this year, subject to regulatory approval in Austria.
Cleary also advised Schibsted ASA, Adevinta’s current majority shareholder, who will, as part of the same transaction, acquire eCG’s platforms DBA.dk and Bilbasen.dk in Denmark.