EBay has reached a deal to sell its StubHub ticketing business to Viagogo, a European rival, for $4.05 billion in cash, the companies announced.
The founder and CEO of Viagogo, Eric Baker, co-founded StubHub while in business school. He left before the ticket reseller was sold to eBay in 2007 for $310 million.
“It has long been my wish to unite the two companies. I am so proud of how StubHub has grown over the years and excited about the possibilities for our shared future,” Baker said.
The deal would allow Viagogo to sell tickets in more than 70 countries, the companies said. Viagogo and StubHub are expected to operate independently for some time. No leadership changes are expected, according to the companies.
The deal comes as eBay is in the midst of a strategic restructuring under which it is uniting geographic regions under a single global leadership team.
EBay chief executive officer Devin Wenig stepped down from his role in September and was replaced on an interim basis by Scott Schenkel. In January, activist investor Elliott Management disclosed it had taken a 4% stake in the company and was pressing for changes.
In March, eBay said it was initiating a strategic review. EBay had seen years of falling revenues amid competition from Amazon and other online marketplaces.
“Over the past several months, eBay’s leadership team and board of directors have been engaged in a thorough review of our current strategies and portfolio, and we concluded that this was the best path forward for both eBay and StubHub,” Schenkel said in a statement.
The sale is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2020.
EBay stock is up about 27% for the year.