Category: eBay’s Kijiji Acquires Classifieds Web Sites
Gumtree.com, founded in London in 2000 by Michael Pennington and Simon Crookall
Gumtree.com, founded in London in 2000 by Michael Pennington and Simon Crookall, is a leading local classifieds site in the United Kingdom. A popular online community center for apartment rentals, employment, and goods and services, Gumtree offers multiple city sites in a number of countries including the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
LoQUo.com, founded in Barcelona in 2002 by Ubaldo Huerta, is a leading communityfocused classifieds site in Spain. A local online meeting place, LoQUo specializes in housing, personals, employment, jobs and practical items for sale. LoQUo offers multiple city sites in Spain and other European countries.
“Gumtree and LoQUo are key classifieds sites in the UK and Spain, respectively, and we are pleased to have them in the Kijiji family,” said Alex Kazim, senior vice president of new ventures at eBay, responsible for Kijiji. “This is an important step forward in our strategy to expand our global portfolio of Web sites.”
eBay does not expect either acquisition to have a material impact on 2005 net revenues and earnings per share, and does not expect either acquisition to affect eBay’s financial guidance as issued in connection with its first quarter earnings announcement on April 20, 2005.
Further terms of the agreements were not disclosed.
About Kijiji
Kijiji, which means “village” in Swahili, is a group of classifieds-style Web sites that offer a convenient, fun, and easy-to-use way for people in the same city to meet, share ideas, trade goods, and help one another out in a range of areas such as housing, jobs, and personals. Kijiji is currently available in more than 90 cities in Austria, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, and Taiwan. It is a start-up within eBay created by a small team of entrepreneurial employees.
About Gumtree.com
Launched in March 2000 and based in the United Kingdom, Gumtree.com is a community-based Web site that enables users to chat, find jobs, make friends, find accommodations or buy and sell a range of goods. Gumtree is available in multiple cities in a number of countries including the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
About LoQUo.com
Launched in September 2002 and based in Spain, LoQUo.com is a city-based classifieds Web site ideal for a range of needs, from renting an apartment and getting a job, to selling a car and buying a refrigerator. An online community gathering place, LoQUo is available in multiple cities in Spain and a number of other European countries.
Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements regarding the expected impact of the acquisitions of Gumtree.com and LoQUo.com on eBay's financial results. Those statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results could differ materially from those discussed. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, the reaction of users of Gumtree’s and LoQUo’s services and users of eBay's services, the future growth of Gumtree’s and LoQUo’s services, and the reaction of competitors to the acquisitions. More information about potential factors which could affect eBay's business and financial results is included in eBay's recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. All forward-looking statements are based on information available to eBay on the date hereof, and eBay assumes no obligation to update such statements.
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