UK Competition Watchdog Concerned Over eBay-Adevinta Deal

Britain's competition watchdog has voiced its concerns over Adevinta's planned acquisition of eBay's classified ads business on Tuesday, sending the Norwegian company's shares into a 3.6% slump.

The $9.2 billion deal would create the world's largest classifieds group, but Adevinta and eBay must pass through the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to proceed with the takeover.

"The CMA is concerned the merger could lead to a loss of competition between Shpock, Gumtree and eBay's marketplace, with only Facebook Marketplace remaining as a significant competitor. This could reduce consumer choice, increase fees or lower innovation in the supply of platforms that allow people to buy and sell goods online”, the CMA commented.

For those unfamiliar with the matter - the eBay group owns UK online auction sites Gumtree and ebay.co.uk, while Adevinta owns Shpock. According to Adevinta, however, UK accounted for less than 10% of the consolidated revenue of eBay's classifieds business and 1% of Adevinta's consolidated revenue.

The company said it would provide a further update in early March following CMA's decision.

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