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EBay shareholders demand Whitman altercation records
Two longtime EBay shareholders are demanding the e-commerce giant open up its records regarding a 2007 altercation between an employee and Meg Whitman, the company's then chief executive and current California gubernatorial candidate, in an action organized by a major labor union opposed to her candidacy.
The New York Times first reported on the incident in June, saying that as eBay communications employee Young Mi Kim tried to prepare Whitman for a media interview, the executive became angry and "forcefully pushed her." Kim threatened a lawsuit, but ultimately received a legal settlement totaling about $200,000, the newspaper reported. After an around four-month hiatus, she returned to work for eBay.
A lawyer for the California Nurses Association representing Michael Preston, a spokesman for the union, and his husband, Alameda school teacher Michael Meyers, issued a letter to eBay's board of directors on Monday demanding "the right to inspect and copy certain books and records of the corporation."
"From an outsider's perspective, it seems they were making decisions based more on protecting management than my retirement nest egg," said Preston, adding the couple has owned 92 shares of eBay since July 2001. "It goes to questions of Meg Whitman's temperament and goes to issues of the management of eBay."
He said shareholders of the San Jose company have the right to know whether there were similar cases that could generate additional legal liabilities.
The CNA, inflamed by the Republican candidate's proposal to target public employees unions as one means of closing the state's gaping budget shortfall, has been making political hay of the confrontation since it came to light. The group, which is backing Whitman's Democratic rival Jerry Brown, quickly organized an ad campaign titled "Nurses Won't Be Pushed Around."
"If we're electing somebody that has a history and pattern of abusive behavior, one might even call it violent, then I think the citizens of California have a right to know that information," said Deborah Burger, a CNA leader, in explaining why it was backing the demand to inspect the records.
The letter to eBay's board asserted a right to review the relevant materials under California Corporation Code. The statue says such records "shall be open to inspection upon the written demand on the corporation of any shareholder ... for a purpose reasonably related to such holder's interests."
The couple is seeking access to all documents related to the confrontation, copies of the settlement agreement, confirmation of the actual payment, and any information about similar incidents and payouts. Preston said that additional union members who own eBay shares, including nurses, teachers and firefighters, will likely issue similar demands.
Neither EBay nor Whitman's campaign responded to inquires from The Chronicle before press time. The Whitman campaign initially described the incident with Kim as "a professional disagreement" in a statement to the New York Times. The candidate later acknowledged to the Los Angeles Times that she had "physically escorted" her from an eBay conference room.
| July 13 2010 at 05:10 PM
It's Official: Skype founders settle, join investor group
EBay Inc. said today that the investor group buying a majority stake in Skype has reached a settlement agreement with the founders of the online calling service, clearing the way for the deal to proceed.
Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis sold Skype to eBay in 2005, but claim they retained ownership of the underlying software code. They filed lawsuits against eBay, claiming it broke the licensing terms of the deal, as well as the investors planning to buy the service.
EBay Inc. said in early September it agreed to hand over its controlling stake in Skype to a consortium led by Menlo Park private-equity firm Silver Lake for $1.9 billion in cash and a note worth $125 million. The other parties included Index Ventures, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Andreessen Horowitz.
Under the agreement, the founders' companies, Joltid Ltd. and Joost N.V., hand over ownership of all the software and end the litigation upon the closing of the acquisition. In addition, Zennstrom and Friis will join the investor group, contributing Joltid software and a capital investment in exchange for a 14 percent stake in Skype.
Silver Lake, Andreessen Horowitz and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board will together hold 56 percent of Skype. EBay will retain 30 percent. Index Ventures has withdrawn from participation.
The deal, which values Skype at $2.75 billion, is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
"Skype will be well positioned to move forward under new owners with ownership and control over its core technology," said eBay Inc. Chief Executive John Donahoe in a statement. "At the same time, eBay continues to retain a significant stake in Skype and will benefit from its continued growth."
Silver Lake Managing Director Egon Durban said in a statement: "We are very pleased to have the litigation resolved. We remain confident in a great future for Skype, and we look forward to working with Niklas, Janus and the other investors as partners to help the company achieve its full potential."
| November 06 2009 at 09:20 AM
Report: Skype settlement, sale near
The founders of Skype have agreed to join the investment consortium buying most of EBay's stake in the online calling service and drop lawsuits against the parties involved, Bloomberg news reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The news service said an official announcement could come later today.
Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis sold Skype to EBay in 2005, but claim they retained ownership of the underlying software code. They filed lawsuits against EBay, claiming it broke the licensing terms of the deal, as well as the investors planning to buy the service.
EBay Inc. said in early September it agreed to hand over its controlling stake in Skype to a group consortium led by Menlo Park private-equity firm Silver Lake for $1.9 billion in cash and a note worth $125 million. The other parties included Index Ventures, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Andreessen Horowitz.
It was unclear whether the deal could move forward before the legal issue was resolved.
The pending deal valued the Luxembourg online telephone leader at $2.75 billion -- shy of the more than $3.1 billion eBay ultimately paid.
Spokesmen for EBay of San Jose and Joltid Ltd., the company controlled by Zennstrom and Friis, both declined to comment, Bloomberg said.
| November 05 2009 at 01:14 PM
EBay earnings drop nearly 30 percent
EBay Inc. said third quarter earnings fell nearly 30 percent, but growth in the online marketplace's payment and classified businesses propelled revenue above forecasts.
The San Jose company reported revenue of $2.23 billion, up 6 percent from a year ago, while net income fell 29 percent to $350 million (27 cents per share). Analysts were expecting earnings per share of 37 cents on revenue of $2.14 billion, according to Thomson Financial Network.
"Our third quarter results were strong with PayPal gaining momentum and market share worldwide and our core eBay business showing positive results," said John Donahoe, chief executive officer of the company, in a statement.
The company attributed the earnings decline to the acquisition of Bill Me Later, a weak U.S. dollar and a shift toward faster growing, but lower margin businesses.
EBay has been struggling to shore up its business for years, as online consumers have increasingly embraced a fixed-price format at odds with the company's auction origins. Its problems worsened as the slumping economy caused consumers to curtail spending.
Under the leadership of Donahoe, who took the helm early last year, the company has pursued a multi-pronged turnaround strategy: moving to spin off divisions that didn't mesh with its core business, such as Skype and StumbleUpon; acquiring those that reinforced it, like Korea's Gmarket online marketplace and Bill Me Later; and shifting its business toward fixed-price items and classifieds.
The star player in the company's lineup and most promising area for growth is PayPal, the online payment service it bought in 2002 for $1.5 billion. It began as a popular service for facilitating transactions among eBay users, taking a sliver of the seller's proceeds. It now, however, draws more revenue from third-party merchants, nonprofits, political campaigns and other organizations.
| October 21 2009 at 01:38 PM
GM, EBay team up to move new cars
Consumers can now haggle over the price of new automobiles on EBay Inc., under a pilot program launching tomorrow that includes hundreds of General Motors Co. dealers in California.
Through a limited time partnership between the San Jose e-commerce site and Detroit auto maker, customers can browse the online showrooms of 225 dealers at gm.ebay.com, which will include up to 20,000 new cars, crossovers and trucks.
Vehicles will be offered either through EBay Motor's "Buy It Now" or "Best Offer" options, in which shoppers agree to pay the sticker price or indicate the value they're willing to pay, respectively.
The site will also provide comparison pricing across dealerships, buyer tips and advice, and trade-in values. In addition, it will determine if the owner's existing automobile qualifies for the federal "Cash For Clunkers" program.
The program will be available from Aug. 11 to Sept. 8, 2009.
| August 10 2009 at 08:49 AM
eBay tells Michael Jackson scalpers to beat it
Getty Images
Michael Jackson memorial service tickets a hot but unwanted item on eBay and Craigslist
Michael Jackson fanatics who are determined to attend the superstar's memorial service in Los Angeles tomorrow can forget about buying scalped tickets on eBay.
The San Jose online marketplace banned their sale today, calling it inappropriate.
However, tickets for the King of Pop's celebration continued to slip through the blockade this afternoon, if only temporarily. People would post them for a few minutes, priced for as much as $30,000, only to have eBay's staff remove them after a few minutes.
The public's fascination with Jackson, the singer, remains strong after his death June 25. Around 1.6 million fans registered for free tickets to his memorial service, where 8,750 seats will be available to the public.
To prevent memorial tickets from being sold, organizers are taking what they describe as tough security measures, including requiring people to show their ID's when picking up their tickets today. They are also fitted with wrist bands, which must be intact to get into the memorial service.
However, attendees also get a second ticket to bring a guest, along with an unused wrist band for them. The procedure for guest opens the door wide open to scalpers who hope to cash in.
To dispel questions about authenticity, some eBay sellers included photos of their tickets and purported unused wrist band. In one posting, the seller said the wrist band was loose enough to slip off his or her wrist and that the other one would fit anyone.
Craigslist, the San Francisco classified ad site, has also cracked down on Michael Jackson tickets through its community policing system. Users have flagged a succession of listings for memorial service tickets - priced up to $10,000 - that were generally removed albeit after a half an hour, or so.
| July 06 2009 at 03:24 PM
eBay's top 15 tech gadgets of 2008
Video games were far and away the most popular technology gadgets on eBay this year. Sales of items related to Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox360 and Sony PSP topped the online marketplace's list of the biggest selling tech gadgets.
Anyone still deciding what to buy for their tech-happy friends and family for the holidays may want to scan the rankings for ideas. Most of the hottest tech gadgets are represented on the chart, which made no distinction between new and used items sold on the site.
- Nintendo Wii: 2,056,866 related items sold
- Microsoft Xbox360: 1,297,903 related items sold
- Sony PSP: 350,591 related items sold
- iPod Touch: 281,361 related items sold
- Nintendo Wii Fit: 266,584 related items sold
- Apple iPhone 3G: 212,837 related items sold
- BlackBerry Pearl: 207,688 related items sold
- BlackBerry Curve: 193,788 related items sold
- Sony Playstation 3: 103,333 related items sold
- Guitar Hero III: 98,159 related items sold
- Halo 3: 91,067 related items sold
- Grand Theft Auto IV: 43,005 related items sold
- MacBook Air: 12,423 related items sold
- Guitar Hero Aerosmith: 3,749 related items sold
- Rock Band 2's: 1,650 related items sold
| December 08 2008 at 02:15 PM
Television ad experiment canned by eBay
EBay's experimental online marketplace for brokering television advertising has been shuttered after failing to attract as much business as expected.
The system, Media Marketplace, had been an effort by the San Jose e-commerce giant to broaden its business by using its technology to make TV and radio ad sales more efficient.
However, the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau, the trade group that represents many cable television ad sales teams, failed to support the service. Oxygen and Ion were among the few networks that conducted tests, leaving the service with a limited amount of air time to offer.
In a statement, eBay said: "We have ended our pilot program in this market. We have been refocusing our resources on our core marketplace business and have determined that this initiative did not warrant continued time and attention."
News of the shuttering was first reported in Adweek.
Unlike eBay, ad sales on Media Marketplace weren't really done through an auction. Rather, advertisers used the system to propose buying air time from media companies as well as for the ensuing negotiations.
In an interview with The Chronicle in 2006, Meg Whitman, eBay's then-chief executive, said that eBay gets many requests to create special marketplaces such as for stock trading.
"Most of the time, we say no to those kinds of requests," she said. "We have more than enough to keep ourselves busy," she said, but added that television was interesting enough for the company to decide to create a custom marketplace.
However, John Donahoe, eBay's current CEO, is trying to engineer an overhaul of eBay amid slowing growth, and analysts are pressing him focus on the company's core consumer e-commerce business and potentially sell its underperforming Skype Internet calling service.
| June 12 2008 at 01:22 PM
The more you spend on eBay, the more you save. Huh?
Consumers saved $7 billion by shopping on eBay in 2003, according to a study released Monday.
The research measured the money shoppers were willing to pay for a product versus what they actually paid. On average, users paid $4 less, the study found.
Given the huge number of auctions on the site, the savings added up into the billions of dollars.
The study, to be published in the forthcoming issue of Information Systems Research, was conducted by University of Maryland's business professors Wolfgang Jank and Galit Shmueli. They used data from a sniping service, Cniper.com, operated by Ravi Bapna, a professor at the Indian School of Business.
Sniping services are commonly used by shoppers to help them automatically place bids in an auction during its final seconds. Shoppers set the maximum price they are willing to pay and the technology does the rest.
The researchers found in the 4,500 auctions they examined that users frequently won items before reaching their maximum bid, explaining part of the reason why users flock to eBay - the savings. At the same time, the study showed that sellers miss out on some of the money they could collect.
Of course, shoppers don't save any money if they shop to excess on eBay and buy items that they don't need.
| January 28 2008 at 05:09 PM
eBay buys company to help fight fraud
Hoping to reduce fraud on its services, eBay's PayPal online payment unit said Monday that it has agreed to acquire Fraud Sciences, a privately held Israeli company, for $169 million.
Executives at the San Jose online marketplace frequently tout their anti-fraud efforts, which they say keeps fraud to less than one percent of all transactions. Still, users complain vociferously about what they consider rampant theft and eBay turning a blind eye to their problems.
The scams are legion: Fraudsters who send phishing e-mails that try to tempt recipients into disclosing their personal information and sellers who never deliver products paid for or send knock offs instead of the real thing are just a few examples.
Fraud Sciences is billed as having technology that differentiates between real and fraudulent transactions. Not only could the technology help reduce fraud, but perhaps also allow eBay to open up some cross border trade that is now blocked from nations that have a high incidence of fraud.
| January 28 2008 at 10:56 AM
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