The New York Stock Exchange’s (NYSE) parent company Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) has reportedly made an offer to eBay that would value its online marketplace at more than $30bn.
The company has been reviewing its assets after pressure from activist investors Elliott Management and Starboard Value, which led to it selling ticket resale arm StubHub to Viagogo in November for $4.05bn.
According to the Wall Street Journal, shares in eBay shot up last night (Tuesday) following the news of the ICE’s offer.
ICE has approached the online retail firm before, but the two entities are not currently in formal talks and therefore it is unclear whether any deal would be accepted.
Shares in eBay closed up 8.9 per cent at $37.41 in New York. ICE shares fell $7.45, or 7.45 per cent, to $92.59.
It is understood that ICE would be interested only in buying eBay’s core marketplace business and not its classified ads division.
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