Electronic commerce giant eBay is stepping up overseas expansion efforts, making good on pledges that it would use a growing cash pile to fuel growth. San Jose-based eBay plans to acquire a minority stake in Asian e-commerce giant Gmarket, worth $404 million as of Aug. 12.

The proposed acquisition was outlined on Aug. 13, two weeks after eBay initially sent a letter to the Korean Fair Trade Commission saying it wanted to buy the equity of the company’s

largest shareholder, Chairman Ki Hyung Lee. “While no definitive agreement has yet been signed or reached in connection with the discussions, a voluntary preliminary filing has been made,” eBay said in a statement. Lee holds about 36.4 percent of the company’s 50.05 million outstanding shares. Gmarket closed Aug. 12 at 22.18. Should eBay and Chairman Lee agree on a price, the KFTC would still have to approve the transaction.

Buying the stake […]

Orginal post by dhiram