In recent weeks, Icahn has sent a series of open letters critical of eBay Chief Executive John Donahoe, the board, and corporate governance at the e-commerce company. Now he thinks that selling off only part of PayPal would retain the benefits of a stand-alone PayPal while maintaining the efficiencies of having eBay and PayPal together.
eBay said in a statement, re-iterating its position that the two businesses are better off under the same umbrella. It said that a partial separation of PayPal was not a new idea but it was glad that Icahn had got the message that selling the money outfit was silly.
Icahn said that as a public company, the payments firm should also command a higher valuation than as part of a larger corporation, shedding the "conglomerate discount," Icahn said. Its stock could then also be used to bankroll future acquisitions.
