eBay Inc.
Acquisitions
4
Major Deals Covered
$5.6B
Disclosed Deal Value
eBay's largest disclosed acquisition here is Skype for $2.6B in 2005. This page covers 4 major deals from 2002 to 2026, each with its price where disclosed and the reason behind it.
| Company | Year | Price | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| PayPal | 2002 | $1.5B | eBay acquired PayPal for $1.5 billion in stock to integrate the dominant online payment processor directly into the eBay checkout flow, a transformative deal that solved the friction of sending paper checks and money orders for online auctions, altering the unit economics of the platform and driving gross merchandise volume growth. |
| Skype | 2005 | $2.6B | eBay acquired the internet telephony company Skype for $2.6 billion in a controversial deal intended to integrate voice communication into the marketplace, based on the flawed assumption that buyers and sellers wanted to negotiate live over voice calls rather than using the asynchronous bidding system. |
| StubHub | 2007 | $315.0M | eBay acquired the online ticketing platform StubHub for $315 million to gain a dominant position in the secondary market for live event tickets, a high-margin, high-frequency category that complemented the company's core physical goods marketplace and provided a recurring revenue stream from service fees. |
| Depop | 2026 | $1.2B | eBay bought the London-founded fashion resale app Depop from Etsy for about $1.2 billion in cash to reach younger Gen Z and Millennial buyers and sellers in circular fashion. |
2026
$1.2B
eBay bought the London-founded fashion resale app Depop from Etsy for about $1.2 billion in cash to reach younger Gen Z and Millennial buyers and sellers in circular fashion.
The deal, announced in February 2026 and closed on July 30, 2026, adds a second C2C fashion brand alongside eBay's pre-loved fashion category.
Integration is in progress; eBay said Depop will keep its distinct customer experience while drawing on eBay's scale and operations.
2007
$315M
eBay acquired the online ticketing platform StubHub for $315 million to gain a dominant position in the secondary market for live event tickets, a high-margin, high-frequency category that complemented the company's core physical goods marketplace and provided a recurring revenue stream from service fees.
The acquisition gave eBay control of the dominant secondary ticketing platform in the United States, providing a high-margin revenue stream that grew to over $1 billion annually, though the business was plagued by continuous regulatory scrutiny and legal battles over ticket scalping laws.
eBay eventually sold StubHub to Viagogo for $4.05 billion in 2020, a divestiture that allowed the company to focus entirely on its core physical goods marketplace and return capital to shareholders, though the sale price was significantly lower than the peak valuation of the asset during the 2010s.
2005
$2.6B
eBay acquired the internet telephony company Skype for $2.6 billion in a controversial deal intended to integrate voice communication into the marketplace, based on the flawed assumption that buyers and sellers wanted to negotiate live over voice calls rather than using the asynchronous bidding system.
The acquisition immediately destroyed shareholder value, as the integration of voice communication failed to generate any meaningful synergies or increase in gross merchandise volume, distracting management from the core marketplace business for nearly five years during a critical period of competition with Amazon.
The Skype acquisition is widely considered one of the worst M&A transactions in Silicon Valley history, resulting in the destruction of over $1.4 billion in shareholder value and forcing eBay to eventually spin off the asset in 2009 at a fraction of the original purchase price, a strategic misstep that permanently damaged the company's reputation for capital allocation.
2002
$1.5B
eBay acquired PayPal for $1.5 billion in stock to integrate the dominant online payment processor directly into the eBay checkout flow, a transformative deal that solved the friction of sending paper checks and money orders for online auctions, altering the unit economics of the platform and driving gross merchandise volume growth.
The acquisition immediately propelled eBay to the dominant position in global e-commerce, granting the company large pricing power and a high-margin recurring revenue stream from the payment processing fees, though it eventually created a conflict of interest as PayPal sought to partner with eBay's competitors.
The PayPal acquisition is widely considered one of the most successful M&A transactions in Silicon Valley history, as the integration of the payment processor unlocked the growth of the entire e-commerce industry, generating revenue that justified the premium valuation before eBay was forced to spin it off in 2015 due to regulatory pressure and strategic misalignment.
eBay's growth strategy centres on what it calls focus categories and on trust. It was losing sneaker and watch sales to specialist startups because buyers feared counterfeits. It responded with Authenticity Guarantee: experts at eBay facilities inspect expensive watches, sneakers and trading cards before they are shipped to the buyer. The aim is to lead in high-value enthusiast categories rather than compete with Amazon on everyday goods.
eBay operates a large C2C (Consumer-to-Consumer) and B2C (Business-to-Consumer) online marketplace model. They do not own any inventory. The core model relies entirely on 'Take Rates'. If you sell a vintage watch for $1,000 on eBay, eBay takes roughly a 10-15% commission, plus processing fees. Over the last decade, they have aggressively pivoted away from their original 'Auction' format; today, the vast majority of items are sold at a fixed 'Buy It Now' price. They also generate large, high-margin revenue through 'Promoted Listings', allowing sellers to pay extra to push their items to the top of the search results.
In October 2002, eBay acquired digital payment startup PayPal for $1.5 billion in stock, integrating PayPal as the default checkout processor across eBay and accelerating PayPal's growth into a global financial technology leader.
eBay acquired online ticket marketplace StubHub in 2007 for $310 million, scaling it into the leader in sports and concert ticketing before selling StubHub to rival ticket exchange viagogo in February 2020 for $4.05 billion in cash.
eBay acquired TCGplayer in October 2022 for $295 million to secure market leadership in collectible trading card games (Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering), gaining specialized software tools and fulfillment for local hobby shops.
In July 2023, eBay acquired Italian AI-powered digital ID and authentication leader Certilogo, embedding smart cryptographic tags and digital passports into luxury fashion items to guarantee authentic resale on eBay.
eBay acquired the digital authentication division of Sneaker Con in November 2021, bringing dozens of top sneaker authenticators and proprietary sneaker physical testing technology in-house to power the Authenticity Guarantee program.
In June 2021, eBay completed the sale of eBay Classifieds Group (including Gumtree, Kijiji, and Mobile.de) to Norwegian marketplace group Adevinta for $2.5 billion in cash and 540 million Adevinta shares, returning billions to eBay shareholders.
eBay pursues targeted, high-synergy technology acquisitions that enhance its Focus Categories, strengthen authentication and grading infrastructure, and accelerate generative AI listing tools without taking on balance-sheet leverage.
In 2024, eBay executed a landmark commercial agreement with Collectors (parent company of PSA, the world's leading trading card grading service) to integrate smooth PSA card grading and sell vaulted cards directly on eBay.
In 2005, eBay executed a massive, highly confusing $2.6 billion acquisition of Skype, believing buyers and sellers would want to video chat with each other. It was a massive failure; users hated it. eBay eventually sold a majority stake in Skype to private equity before Microsoft bought it.
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