eBay to buy Baazee.com for $50 m

NEW YORK: eBay Inc. will buy privately held Baazee.com Inc., India's biggest online auctioneer, for about $50 million, extending its international expansion to another burgeoning market, eBay said.

San Jose, California-based eBay has been building its international business, which the company hopes will eventually become larger than its U.S. operations. Last year, eBay completed an $180 million purchase of China's EachNet Inc., the most popular online auction site in China.

Baazee.com, like eBay, allows people to buy and sell wares in an array of categories such as consumer electronics, home decor and jewelry. The Mumbai-based company was founded in January 2000 and says it now has more than 1 million registered users.

Internet usage in India is still relatively low. The companies cited data from International Data Corp. showing that there are currently 17 million Internet users in India, a number expected to rise to more than 30 million in two years.

"Although it's early days for e-commerce in India, we believe there is great opportunity over the long term," eBay Chief Executive, Meg Whitman said in a statement.

The deal is expected to close in the third calendar quarter of 2004. It is not expected to materially affect eBay's 2004 revenue and earnings per share results, the company said.

© Reuters