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Mergers and Acquistions News

Categories: Media & Information Services

December 20th 2010, 16:51PM

Auction ecommerce website eBay will acquire a German online fashion shopping club as it looks to strengthen its European position.

The firm will buy all the shares of brands4friends, the largest online service of its type in Germany, for approximately $200 million (£128 million), it said in a statement.

Recently, eBay purchased Critical Path, a US-based mobile application developer, to help it further its move into mobile shopping.

Formed in 2007, brands4friends sells goods from big-name fashion brands at reduced prices by offering its members limited special offers on a daily basis.

UK-headquartered, brands4friends has around 3.5 million members in Germany and employs about 200 people.

According to eBay research, online shopping clubs are a fast-emerging part of the online fashion market, accounting for approximately 20 per cent of online fashion sales in Europe.

"We want to give our customers the best possible fashion experience online," said Doug McCallum, senior vice president for eBay in Europe.

"With the acquisition of brands4friends, we will enter the online shopping club market with an established and dynamic partner who has the expertise, relationships and passion to match our own ambition," he added.

The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2011.
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