Ebay to explore sale or IPO of King of Prussia-based Ebay Enterprise unit (formerly GSI Commerce)

Tom Paine

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GSI Commerce becomes part of Ebay, June 2011

Ebay said today in conjunction with its earnings announcement that it may explore a sale or an IPO of its Ebay Enterprise unit, which is based in King of Prussia.

Ebay acquired the company, then known as GSI Commerce, in March 2011 for $2.4 billion in debt and cash. GSI founder Michael Rubin, who started selling sporting goods as a teenager in Devon, retained stakes in Fanatics (a phenomenal success), ShopRunner (a high valuation) and Rue La La (perhaps less successful) as part of his Conshohocken-based Kynectic LLC holding company.

Ebay tried to position the unit, later renamed Ebay Enterprise, as part of its overall strategy, though progress was hindered by several factors, including the insider trading conviction of former Rubin deputy and GSI Commerce/Ebay Enterprise CEO Christopher Saridakis in 2014 and the pressure on Ebay to split up.

There are 2800 Ebay Enterprise employees on LinkedIn, but the number varies dramatically seasonally.

Ecommerce software unit Magento was also folded into Ebay Enterprise under Ebay.

Ebay also announced today plans to cut 2,400 positions across all divisions of the company.