eBay Inc. (Nasdaq:EBAY) today announced it has acquired StumbleUpon, an early-stage company that helps people discover and share content online, for an aggregate transaction value of approximately $75 million. This acquisition will provide eBay with in-depth exposure to a fast-growing community-based service with approximately 2.3 million users. StumbleUpon gives people a new way to discover relevant and entertaining content based on personal preferences and community recommendations.
“StumbleUpon is a great fit within our goal of pioneering new communities based on commerce and sustained by trust,” said Michael Buhr, senior director, eBay. “StumbleUpon’s downloadable toolbar provides an engaging and unique experience to its users, but it is the similarities in our approaches to the concept of community that make it such a compelling addition to eBay.”
Driven by word-of-mouth, the StumbleUpon community has grown 150 percent year over year and delivers approximately five million new recommendations a day to its large, highly engaged user base. StumbleUpon allows people to discover Web sites, people, videos, product information, communities and other online content based on personal interests. By allowing its community to rate the content, StumbleUpon gets smarter as it is used and provides an increasing level of relevance over time.
Said Garrett Camp, chief architect and one of three StumbleUpon founders, “We’re excited about joining eBay, as we share the same values around community and we look forward to working with them to accelerate our growth.”
Buhr will serve as general manager of StumbleUpon effective immediately. StumbleUpon’s current founders and management team will remain in their respective positions and will work with Buhr to enhance the user experience, evolve its unique product and grow the community.
eBay does not expect this acquisition to have a material impact on its financial guidance as issued in conjunction with its first quarter earnings release on April 18, 2007.
About StumbleUpon
StumbleUpon helps you discover and share great Web sites and videos. With approximately 2.3 million users and approximately five million recommendations daily, StumbleUpon is one of the most popular new ways to discover content on the Web. The company was founded in 2001 and is based in San Francisco. For more information, visit http://www.StumbleUpon.com.
About eBay Inc.
Founded in 1995, eBay Inc. connects hundreds of millions of people around the world every day through commerce, delivering fun, engaging and trusted online experiences. We are constantly finding new ways to empower people worldwide to explore, learn, shop, share and talk with each other. Since its inception, eBay Inc. has expanded to include some of the strongest brands in the world, including eBay, PayPal, Skype, Shopping.com, and others. eBay Inc. is headquartered in San Jose, California.
