eBay is trying to sell the popular recommendation engine StumbleUpon, which eBay bought for $75 million in early 2007. It was never clear to us why eBay bought StumbleUpon in the first place. When the acquisition was first announced, we speculated that eBay would use StumbleUpon’s technology to create a new, viral way of shopping. In the end, though, eBay never integrated StumbleUpon into its business.
In early 2007, we complained that eBay’s line-up of new services started to look very chaotic. Now, with its auction business slowly declining, it would only make sense for eBay to focus on its core competencies again instead of investing time and money into products that do not contribute to its main business.
StumbleUpon was a bargain at $75 million and probably a worthwhile experiment for eBay, but now that eBay’s future does not look as rosy as it once did, we think it only makes sense for eBay to sell it off again. According to TechCrunch, eBay has hired Deutsche Bank to find a buyer, though the asking price is not clear.
Source: ReadWritewebTags: acquisition, asking price, auction business, bargain, deutsche bank, ebay, recommendation engine, s line, shopping, stumbleupon, time and money, worthwhile experiment
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