eBay has announced that it will sell eBay Enterprise for $925 million to a group of investment firms: Sterling Partners, Longview Asset Management and Innotrac Corp., along with companies owned by the Permira Funds.
Said Craig Hayman, President of eBay Enterprise: "I’m excited to share that eBay Inc. has signed an agreement to sell eBay Enterprise to a consortium consisting of Sterling Partners, Longview Asset Management, and Innotrac Corporation, a Sterling Partners portfolio company, together in partnership with companies owned by the Permira Funds.....Rest assured, eBay Enterprise remains committed to its clients. You can expect the same high level of performance from our team. Upon close of the deal the consortium of buyers will share more details about the future plans for this great business. We are excited by the opportunity ahead, as it allows us to continue to create new ways for retailers, brands and branded manufacturers to leverage their existing technology investments, to get to market quickly, and innovate to stay ahead of the competition." [See full quote here]
Peter Sheldon, vice president and e-commerce technology analyst at Forrester Research., says Magento should do well under its new owners, who can be expected to continue build on eBay’s investment in Magento’s technology. “Magento is one of the jewels in the portfolio, and I would expect the private equity consortium to not only continue with all committed resources but likely increase the resources.”
178 of the top 1,000 online retailers in North America use either the free Community edition or Enterprise versions of the Magento platform, according to Internet Retailer’s Top500Guide.com. That makes it the top e-commerce platform provider to the largest e-retailers. And more than 250,000 websites operate on the Magento platform, according to research firm BuiltWith.
