eBay will acquire mobile.de, one of the leading online classifieds Web sites for vehicles in Germany. The acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approval in Germany and other closing conditions, is expected to close in the second quarter of 2004.
eBay said the acquisition will allow eBay Germany to enhance its existing online marketplace for vehicles with mobile.de's complementary classifieds format. Based in Hamburg, mobile.de has more than 800,000 listings and more than 22 million unique visitors per month, according to IVW. mobile.de was founded in 1996 and later received partial funding by the private equity firm Granville Baird Capital Partners.
eBay will acquire all outstanding shares of mobile.de for approximately EUR 121 million in cash, or approximately US$152 million, based on the January 23, 2004 exchange rate of EUR 1.26 per US$1.00, plus acquisition costs to be determined at the time the transaction is closed. The actual purchase price paid by eBay at closing will be subject to certain pre-closing price adjustments and will be based on the exchange rate in effect at that time.
In the U.S., eBay had partnered with AutoTrader.com, a classified site for vehicles, in March 2000. AutoTrader ended the relationship 6 months early in January 2003 and now offers auction listings on its own site. AutoTrader said it has a database of 2.2 million vehicles and receives over 6 million visitors per month.
