Despite spending most of 2014 arguing the opposite, eBay has today decided it will divide its popular payment and auction properties in two. Next year, the company will split PayPal away from its embattled auction site, and as a result of the restructuring eBay’s current CEO and CFO will step down from their roles, although both will take board positions. Dan Schulman, currently an executive at American Express, will become CEO of the new PayPal in 2015.
eBay has had a troubled year, with activist investor Carl Icahn pressuring the company to separate its growing online payments service away from its core business. Although eBay won a proxy battle to prevent that from happening, it’s now decided to do so of its own volition. The split is expected to complete by the middle of 2015, allowing PayPal and eBay to operate at “arm’s length” from each another, and hopefully helping PayPal to expand its payment offerings to fight against the likes of Apple Pay and Square.
Source: Engadget