Ebay Inc. reached an agreement to sell its Enterprise business, formerly GSI Commerce, to a consortium led by private equity firm Permira for $925 million.
Based on proceeds from the Enterprise business sale, Ebay recorded an impairment of goodwill in its second quarter of about $786 million. The deal is expected to close later this year.
The sale price represents less than half the $2.4 billion that Ebay paid in 2011 for GSI Commerce.
Ebay Enterprise provides omnichannel sales, fulfillment and marketing services to North America's largest retailers. Clients in the sports and outdoors space include: Sports Authority, Fanatics, Dick's Sporting Goods, Sportchek, Eastern Mountain Sports, Timberland, Speedo, and Helly Hansen. It consists of four divisions: Magento Commerce Technologies, Ebay Marketing Solutions, Enterprise Services and Operations.
The unit has struggled over the past few years as many former clients, including Dick's Sporting Goods, have made moves to bring their e-commerce operations in-house. The unit suffered a blow in early July when Toys “R” Us Inc., one of its larger customers, said it would take its U.S. business in-house by mid-2016.
In January, Ebay said it planned to divest its Enterprise business through a sale or IPO. Management at the time admitted that it had become clear that the Enterprise unit had limited synergies with either its core Ebay Marketplace unit or PayPal. The company spun off its PayPal business on Friday. The deals lets Ebay further narrow its focus on its core Ebay.com marketplace operation.
