PayPal earns $44B valuation ahead of eBay split

Financial Times: PayPal has an official market value as a standalone company, ahead of its separation from eBay later this month: $44B. PayPal shares started trading on Nasdaq on a “when issued” basis this morning and after an early pop, they have settled at about $36.40 apiece, Stephen Foley reports.

That means PayPal accounts for about 60% of eBay’s market capitalisation. Shares in eBay are available in two flavours from today, with or without the rights to PayPal; eBay’s holders will be given one PayPal share for each eBay share when the split officially happens on July 20.

At 12.30pm in New York, “full” eBay is down 0.7% at $61.40; “ex-PayPal” eBay is at $25.10.

The separation is designed to make sure investors give full value to PayPal which, thanks to the fast-changing payments landscape, is seen having higher growth prospects – and, as the FT’s Leslie Hook writes – the potential for benefits from merger and acquisition activity. Read the full article