EBay Inc., seeking to tip the balance of power in the surging Internet retail industry, is making a $2.4 billion acquisition that will intensify its rivalry with Amazon.com Inc.
The online auction pioneer is buying e-commerce service company GSI Commerce Inc., extending its reach into several businesses that have helped Amazon build its product selection and win customer loyalty. GSI, like Amazon, has the infrastructure in place to help merchants of all sizes conduct e-commerce.
GSI, which is based in the Philadelphia suburb of King of Prussia, Pa., assists more than 180 top brands and retailers with their websites, including Aéropostale, Timberland, Mattel, Zales and Major League Baseball. With the deal, EBay gets an order-management, fulfillment and shipping business that competes directly with Amazon’s own fulfillment offering for merchants. Fulfillment centers pack up orders for shipment.
“The number of retailers, large and small, that have come to us saying ‘We are grappling with how you deal with mobile commerce, we are grappling with how to deal in a social-commerce world, we are grappling with how to go global’ has been striking,” said eBay Chief Executive John Donahoe, in explaining the acquisition.
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