E-commerce Immediacy driven by the New Supply Chain is now required to sell online. EBay may have been slow to learn. Let us see how Toys 'R' Us does.
EBay’s Enterprise unit takes a hit amid sale talks
Toys “R” Us Inc. on Thursday said it would take control of its own U.S. e-commerce operations by mid-2016, rather than relying on eBay Enterprise. The announcement comes at an inopportune time for eBay EBAY, -0.15% which has been in talks with Thomas H. Lee Partners LP to sell the unit for as much as $1 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
The e-commerce company has been searching for a buyer since at least January, when it said it could also seek a spinoff of the division. In recent weeks, Thomas H. Lee had outbid other potential suitors including a grouping of private-equity firms, Apax Partners and Sterling Partners, people familiar with the matter said.
In the hopes of securing a deal, eBay had extended the prior deadline of June 30 to July 15, which is two days before eBay’s planned split from its PayPal payments unit, according to one of the people.