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Oslo, 2 June 2021 – Following an announcement by the UK Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) today, Adevinta ASA (ADE) (“Adevinta”) confirms that the CMA has accepted the undertakings which have been proposed by Adevinta and eBay Inc to resolve the competition concerns raised by the CMA. Consequently, the CMA has approved Adevinta’s acquisition of eBay Classifieds Group (“eCG”) in accordance with the terms of those undertakings, which comprise the divestment of each company’s primary classifieds operations in the UK: Shpock (in the case of Adevinta) and Gumtree UK and Motors.co.uk (in the case of eCG).
Adevinta is also pleased to announce that it has reached an agreement to sell Shpock to Russmedia Equity Partners (“Russmedia”) and the transaction is expected to close today. Russmedia plans to continue the development of Shpock into a leading digital platform for classified advertising.
Adevinta continues to target completion of the acquisition of eBay Classifieds Group in Q2 2021, subject to regulatory approval in Austria.
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Notes to Editor
Media contacts
Adevinta
Mélodie Laroche
Corporate Communications
+33 (0) 6 84 30 52 76
melodie.laroche@adevinta.com
Marie de Scorbiac
Investor Relations
ir@adevinta.com
John Kiely / Latika Shah / Raeesa Chowdhury-King
Edelman Smithfield
+44 (0)7785 275665 / +44 (0)7950 671 948 / +44 (0)7885 802774
adevinta@edelman.com
About Adevinta
Adevinta is a global online classifieds specialist, operating digital marketplaces in 9 countries. The company provides technology-based services to connect buyers with sellers and to facilitate transactions, from job offers to real estate, cars, consumer goods and more. Adevinta’s portfolio spans 35 digital products and websites, attracting 1.3 billion average monthly visits. Leading brands include top-ranked leboncoin in France, InfoJobs and Milanuncios in Spain, and 50% of fast-growing OLX Brazil. Adevinta spun off from Schibsted ASA and publicly listed in Oslo, Norway in 2019. Adevinta employs 4,700 people committed to supporting users and customers daily. Find out more at Adevinta.com.
About Shpock
Shpock is a generalist (app-first) mobile online classifieds site that was acquired by Schibsted in 2015. The mobile online classifieds site is turning its focus from location-based discovery to a transactional classifieds site, with categories ranging from electronics, fashion and furniture to specialised verticals such as motor and real estate. Shpock is focusing its efforts on the UK as it is winding down its activities in and will exit two other countries: Germany and Austria. In 2019, Shpock had approximately 26 million listings in the UK and since its launch in July 2015, Shpock has had 52 million total downloads worldwide and had approximately 92% of traffic from mobile in 2019.
About Russmedia Equity Partners
Russmedia Equity Partners is an investor in and operator of online marketplaces, aggregators, and SaaS solutions. Russmedia Equity Partners has over 20 years of experience in successfully investing in and operating digital companies. The company currently runs a profitable portfolio of 19 digital businesses across 6 countries in Europe. Headquartered in Schaan (Liechtenstein), Russmedia Equity Partners is investing €100 million to significantly increase its commitment to international digital growth. Russmedia Equity Partners is seeking long-term partnership with management teams in order to empower sustainable businesses. It focuses on strategic acquisitions and supports entrepreneurs throughout the life cycle of their company.
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act
