(Associated Press via NewsEdge) Internet auctioneer eBay is on the verge of buying the rapidly growing online ticket reseller StubHub for about $300 million in cash, according to a person close to the deal.
The acquisition could be announced this week, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the papers sealing the deal had not yet been signed.
eBay spokesman Hani Durzy declined to comment. A call to Jeff Fluhr, StubHub's co-founder and chief executive, wasn't immediately returned.
If the sale is completed, eBay would gain control of one of the nation's fastest-growing companies.
San Francisco-based StubHub runs an online market for buying and selling tickets to major events, an alternative outlet that has been thriving even as its existence incensed some of the sports teams whose tickets are being resold above their face value.
StubHub says buyers paid more than $400 million for tickets sold on its site, generating more than $100 million in revenue for the 6-year-old company, which is privately held. Scalpers pay a 15% fee to sell tickets on the site while the buyers are charged a 10% commission.
ebay has been pursuing StubHub off and on for years and nearly bought the startup for $20 million in 2002 before negotiations fell apart.
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