Online auction giant eBay has filed suit against online classified service Craigslist, claiming Craigslist took unilateral actions that dilted eBay’s ownership of Craigslist by more than 10 percent. Back in 2004, eBay bought a 28.4 percent stake in Craigslist; although the suit is filed under seal in a Delaware Chancery Court, eBay is asking the court to rescind unspecified actions by Craigslist’s board of directors.
“Since negotiating our investment with Craigslist’s board in 2004, we have acted openly and in good faith as a minority shareholder,” said eBay senior VP and general counsel Mike Jacobson, in a statement, “so we were surprised by these recent unilateral actions. We are asking the Delaware court to rescind these recent actions in order to protect eBay’s stockholders and preserve our investment.”
In a statement on its corporate blog, Craigslist characertized eBay’s accusations as unfounded, and asserts that eBay’s stake in the company had not been unfairly diluted. “Coming from a shareholder that views Craigslist as a prime competitor, filing suit without so much as mentioning these assertions beforehand seems unethical, and hints at ulterior motives.”
