eBay to acquire King of Prussia's GSI Commerce for $2.4 billion

eBay just announced it was acquiring King of Prussia ecommerce vendor GSI Commerce for $2.4 billion. The per share price, at $29.25, reflects a 51% premium over Friday's closing price.

Founded by a young Michael Rubin in 1995 as Global Sports Incorporated, GSI Commerce provides ecommerce and fulfillment services for many leading brands, particularly in sporting goods and
apparel. Although it had achieved strong growth, some have questioned the profitability of its business model.

In the press release, eBay says that as part of the transaction, it will divest 100 percent of GSI’s licensed sports merchandise business and 70 percent of ShopRunner and Rue La La, and that "these assets will be sold to a newly formed holding company, which will be led by GSI founder and CEO Michael Rubin".

This company history timeline is from GSI Commerce's website.

Why eBay Wants to Buy GSI Commerce (Gigaom)

eBay’s New Deal: What Is GSI Commerce? (Wall Street Journal: Deal Journal)

Ebay-GSIC Deal: How the Analysts Fared (Wall Street Journal: MarketBeat)

New Company Will Emerge in Wake of eBay’s Acquisition of GSI Commerce (All Things Digital: eMoney)