Prosus NV handed in the highest offer for EBay\u2019s classifieds unit, putting the Naspers-owned business in pole position to win one of the largest auction processes this year, people familiar with the matter said.<\/p>\n
The EBay board is scheduled to meet Friday to formally choose a preferred bidder, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.<\/p>\n
A sale of the classifieds business was expected to fetch more than $8 billion, Bloomberg News has reported.<\/p>\n
Prosus is competing against a private equity consortium — backed by Blackstone Group Inc., Permira and Hellman & Friedman — and a separate proposal from Norwegian online marketplace Adevinta ASA, the people said.<\/p>\n
The situation is fluid, and one of the rival bidders could still emerge on top, according to the people.<\/p>\n
Shares of Prosus were down 0.1% at 11h53 in Amsterdam, giving the e-commerce investor a market value of 138 billion euros ($158 billion). The Euro Stoxx Technology Index rose 1%.<\/p>\n
The EBay classifieds business includes a number of online marketplaces separate from the company\u2019s eponymous auction platform.<\/p>\n
Its brands include Kijiji, which is commonly used in Canada and Italy, and Gumtree, a classifieds site popular in the UK, Australia and South Africa. It also owns Bilbasen, a Danish online vehicle marketplace, and British car search website Motors.co.uk.<\/p>\n
Prosus submitted an all-cash offer, while Adevinta\u2019s bid was a mix of cash and stock, the people said. Representatives for Adevinta, EBay, Prosus and the private equity bidders declined to comment.<\/p>\n
EBay said in February it was in active talks with multiple parties about a potential deal for its classifieds business as it responded to pressure from activist investors to focus on its main online marketplace.<\/p>\n
Any deal would add to the $239 billion of acquisitions involving technology companies announced this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.<\/p>\n