Over the past decades with the emergence and growth of several companies, the business and economic world has beheld a rise in influential firms merging with and/or acquiring other firms in similar or different industries. Such business deals are undertaken for several purposes such as; improving the target company’s operations, acquiring greater market access for services and products, acquiring companies that offer greater technological capacities and skillset to maximize performance and minimize costs, increasing synergy or value creation, diversification of geography, exploring opportunism and developing the capacity of infant enterprises in particular industries. One of such is eBay. Let’s know more about What Companies Are Owned By eBay?
The multinational e-commerce company, eBay is a commercial giant that has acquired several organizations and firms. Since its launch in 1995, the popular online auction and shopping site has ownership over 59 In numerous countries including the united states, Canada, United Kingdom, Isreal, China, South Korea, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, France, Spain, and others. most of these companies that have merged with or have been acquired by eBay fall into the different industries and the largest of which fall into the inline suction industry. Companies acquired in the industry include eBay’s first acquisition, Upscale, acquired in 1998. Others include Butterfield and Butterfield, Alando, Internet Auction co., iBazar, CARad.com, Baazee, and Tradera, which were acquired in 1999, 1999, 2001, 2001, 2003, 2004, and 2006 respectively. Another class of companies is categorized under the advertising industries, which include Craigslist, Rent.com, Loquo, and Gumtree acquired in 2004, 2004, 2005, and 2005 respectively. eBay has also acquired some companies in the electronic commerce industry. These include StubHub, GittiGidiyor, Bill Me Later, Magento, and brands4friends acquired in 2007, 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2010 respectively. Of its 59 acquisitions, the two largest deals are the acquisition of Skype and PayPal.
A Brief Look At eBay
eBay is an American multinational company founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995. The e-commerce giant Is known worldwide as one of the most popular and widely used online auction and shopping sites, with over 190 million users, 7 million sellers, and access to 200 different marketplaces. With about 1 billion items listed and on display, a wide range of goods and products are accessible and purchasable.
eBay’s Acquisitions Till Present Date
Due to its fast-paced growth in popularity and significance, eBay also owns three selling services: eBay Motors, eBay express, and eBay Stores. Here’s a look at notable companies that eBay has acquired and owned from different periods.
Acquisitions From 1998 to 2003
- Up4Sale.com: An American online auction and e-commerce company acquired in 1998
- Butterfield & Butterfield: A Prestigious auction house, based in the US. Acquired 1999.
- Bill point: An American e-commerce company offering mobile payment services, acquired in 1999.
- Kruse International: An American car auction house acquired in 1999.
- Alando:A German auction house acquired in 1999
- Blackthorne: An American company offering a listing tool, acquired in 1999.
- Half.com: An American Online marketplace for buyers and sellers of products, acquired in 2000.
- Precision Buying Service: An American company that offers e-commerce payment systems, acquired in 2000.
- Internet Auction Co.: A south Korean online auction house. Acquired in 2001.
- iBazar: An online French company that offers an online auction service. Acquired in 2001.
- Pay Pal: An American e-commerce payment company, acquired in 2002.
- CARad.com:An American auction house was acquired in 2003.
- EachNet: A Chinese electronic commerce company. Acquired 2003.
Acquisitions From 2004 to 2008
- mobile.de: A German company of classified vehicles, acquired in 2004.
- Baazee.com: An Indian Indian auction company. Acquired in 2004.
- Craigslist: An American company offering classified advertising services. Acquired in 2004.
- Marktplaats.nl: An company offering classified advertising services based in the Netherlands. Acquired in 2004.
- Rent.com: An American company offering classified advertising services. Acquired in 2004
- Loquo: An Spanish company offering classified advertising services. Acquired in 2005
- Gumtree: An British company offering classified advertising services. Acquired in 2005
- Shopping.com: An Israeli company price comparison services. Acquired in 2005
- Skype: A Company that offers Limited Software for voice-based in Luxembourg. Acquired in 2005.
- Trader: An Swedish online auction company. Acquired in 2005
- Meetup.com: An American Social network service. Acquired in 2006.
- StumbleUpon: A Canadian company that offers browser plugin services. Acquired in 2006.
- StubHub: An American electronic commerce company. Acquired in 2007.
- GittiGidiyor:An Turkish electronic commerce company. Acquired in 2007.
- Bill Me Later: An American electronic commerce company. Acquired in 2008
- Fraud Sciences: An Israeli Online risk management company. Acquired in 2008.
Acquisitions From 2009 to 2013
- Positronic Inc.: An American company offering machine learning services. Acquired in 2009
- brands4friends: An German e-commerce company. Acquired in 2010
- RedLaser: An American mobile applications company. Acquired in 2010
- Milo.com: An American company offering shopping engine support. Acquired in 2010
- BillSAFE: A German Billing tech company. Acquired in 2011.
- The Gifts Projects: An Israeli company that purchases gifts in groups. Acquired in 2012
- Z-Events: A American company that provides local event listings. Acquired in 2013
Acquisitions From 2014 to 2018
- PhiSix Fashion Labs: An American Virtual clothing store. Acquired in 2014
- Vivanuncios: A Mexican company that provides Online classified services. Acquired in 2015
- Twice Secondhand: An American company that provides clothing retailer services. Acquired in 2015
- Corrigan: An American company that provides image recognition services. Acquired in 2016
- Cargigi: An American company that provides Inventory management services. Acquired in 2016
- ExpertMaker: An Swedish company that provides Machine learning services. Acquired in 2016
- SalesPredict: An Israeli online commerce company. Acquired in 2016
- Ticketbis: An Spanish Online ticket marketplace. Acquired in 2016
- Terapeak: An American company that provides Data tools. Acquired in 2017
- Motors.co.uk: An British Online commerce marketplace. Acquired in 2018
Conclusion
To the business world and our daily lives, eBay had become a tech legend, a cultural phenomenon, and a household name. There’s no denying that its various acquisitions- some with challenges and failure-took the company to greater heights, immense recognition, and public influence.