Online retail giant eBay said Thursday it had reached a deal with activist investor Carl Icahn, who had demanded a spinoff of the payment division PayPal.
Icahn, who had been leading a campaign to split up the e-commerce giant, reached a deal with eBay that calls for the naming of a new independent member of the board of directors.
The company said it agreed to Icahn's suggestion to appoint former AT&T chairman and chief executive David Dorman as an independent director.
The deal ends a months-old dispute with Icahn, who had assailed eBay for poor management and claimed that keeping eBay tied with PayPal depressed the value of both units.
"We are very pleased to have reached this agreement with Mr. Icahn, settling proxy issues and enabling our board and management team to focus our full attention on a goal every shareholder agrees on -- growing PayPal and eBay, and delivering sustainable shareholder value," said eBay's president and chief executive John Donahoe.
"As a result of our conversations, it became clear that Carl and I strongly agree on the potential of PayPal and our company. I respect Carl's willingness to work together to drive sustainable shareholder value today and into the future. His record shows that he has done this with many other companies in the past."
Icahn said in a Twitter message: "Extremely pleased about agreement with $EBAY. Believe it's a win-win for ALL shareholders."
The billionaire investor has a long history of taking positions in companies that give him the leverage to force changes in management or provide dividends to shareholders.
Online retail giant eBay said Thursday it had reached a deal with activist investor Carl Icahn, who had demanded a spinoff of the payment division PayPal.
Icahn, who had been leading a campaign to split up the e-commerce giant, reached a deal with eBay that calls for the naming of a new independent member of the board of directors.
The company said it agreed to Icahn’s suggestion to appoint former AT&T chairman and chief executive David Dorman as an independent director.
The deal ends a months-old dispute with Icahn, who had assailed eBay for poor management and claimed that keeping eBay tied with PayPal depressed the value of both units.
“We are very pleased to have reached this agreement with Mr. Icahn, settling proxy issues and enabling our board and management team to focus our full attention on a goal every shareholder agrees on — growing PayPal and eBay, and delivering sustainable shareholder value,” said eBay’s president and chief executive John Donahoe.
“As a result of our conversations, it became clear that Carl and I strongly agree on the potential of PayPal and our company. I respect Carl’s willingness to work together to drive sustainable shareholder value today and into the future. His record shows that he has done this with many other companies in the past.”
Icahn said in a Twitter message: “Extremely pleased about agreement with $EBAY. Believe it’s a win-win for ALL shareholders.”
The billionaire investor has a long history of taking positions in companies that give him the leverage to force changes in management or provide dividends to shareholders.
