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Online auctioneer eBay Inc. said on Wednesday it agreed to buy Shopping.com, which provides online comparison shopping and consumer reviews, for about $620 million in cash. The move by Ebay would strengthen its hand in being able to bring consumers online comparison shopping, something that Internet search engine Google Inc. has dabbled in with its Froogle service, along with other Internet companies.
Ebay said it expected the planned acquisition to be immaterial to its 2005 earnings per share before items and will lower its 2005 net earnings per share because of charges for stock-based compensation and the amortization of certain acquired assets.
The purchase also gives Ebay's sellers a new sales channel and access to a new set of buyers. Shopping.com also has more than 400,000 so-called Epinion reviewers that Ebay said would complement its own community-feedback-based marketplace.
Ebay said that the transaction, which is subject to regulatory and Shopping.com shareholder approval, is expected to close in the third quarter.
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Ebay said it expected the planned acquisition to be immaterial to its 2005 earnings per share before items and will lower its 2005 net earnings per share because of charges for stock-based compensation and the amortization of certain acquired assets.
The purchase also gives Ebay's sellers a new sales channel and access to a new set of buyers. Shopping.com also has more than 400,000 so-called Epinion reviewers that Ebay said would complement its own community-feedback-based marketplace.
Ebay said that the transaction, which is subject to regulatory and Shopping.com shareholder approval, is expected to close in the third quarter.
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