eBay還是要拆分PayPal？
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????科技新聞刊物《The Information》日前刊登的一篇報道稱，購物網(wǎng)站eBay一直向潛在新雇員透露，該公司最快可能會在明年將支付業(yè)務PayPal拆分出去。如果邁出這一步，eBay首席執(zhí)行官約翰?多納霍就得做出一些解釋。 ????今年早些時候，維權投資者卡爾?伊坎曾大聲疾呼拆分PayPal，他把PayPal稱為“一個埋沒在eBay內(nèi)部的金融巨人”。 ????多納霍承認，eBay曾考慮過拆分PayPal，但最終認為此舉并不合理。該公司在1月的博客中寫道： ????“基于目前面對的形勢，我們?nèi)哉J為，PayPal和eBay一體化運營，最符合公司、客戶和股東的利益。” ????“支付是極為重要的商業(yè)環(huán)節(jié)。大家都喜歡購物，但沒有人喜歡付錢。因此，我們?nèi)硇牡刂铝τ谙@種支付阻力，并努力讓支付變得便捷、安全和穩(wěn)妥。我們也在不斷創(chuàng)新，試圖讓支付成為推動參與感的一種方式，并為客戶和商家創(chuàng)造更多的價值。” ????“這就是我們所做的工作。正是由于PayPal和eBay結(jié)合在一起，我們才一直能夠立于不敗之地。這也是我們?yōu)槭裁聪嘈盼覀冋幱谝粋€非常有利的位置，能夠成為在線和線下商務世界的領導者。” ????“在支付領域，PayPal創(chuàng)造了其他競爭對手無法企及的成功，因為其他競爭對手都沒有eBay這樣的商務平臺。事實上，如今越來越多的商務和支付競爭對手都試圖復制eBay和PayPal的模式。商務和支付業(yè)務的趨勢是融合，而不是分離。” ????多納霍向《財富》雜志透露：“PayPal的規(guī)模將超過eBay市場。PayPal還有巨大的潛力可挖，而且我們完全有能力釋放這一潛力。” ????在eBay將美國電話電報公司（AT&T）前首席執(zhí)行官大衛(wèi)?多曼納入董事會后，伊坎最終做出讓步，他目前仍持有該公司2.48%的股份。但是，如果eBay在2015年啟動PayPal剝離程序，那也就等于默認，伊坎的建議是對的。此外，伊坎曾用一些不怎么中聽的話來評論多納霍的商業(yè)頭腦，這樣做也等于完全承認了伊坎的這些評價。 ????《The Information》指出，PayPal前首席執(zhí)行官大衛(wèi)?馬庫斯跳槽至Facebook讓事情出現(xiàn)了新的變化，而eBay可能需要以“PayPal獨立”為誘餌來尋找合適的繼任者。然而在這里，eBay又陷入了同樣自相矛盾的境地：如果eBay真的認為兩者的結(jié)合才是最符合PayPal利益的出路，那為什么又要聘用一個意見相左的繼任者？而且，如果eBay一開始就聽從伊坎的建議，馬庫斯是不是就不會離開了呢？ ????誠然，首席執(zhí)行官們大打口水仗并不是什么稀奇事。如果eBay要拆分PayPal，那么多納霍就只有這一條路可走。唯一的問題在于，隨之而來的傷痛是否致命。（財富中文網(wǎng)） ????譯者：Feng |
????eBayhas been telling potential new hires that may spin off its PayPal business by as early as next year, according to a new report today from The Information. If it pulls the trigger, then eBay CEO John Donahoe will have some ‘splainin’ to do. ????Earlier this year, activist investor Carl Icahn vociferously agitated for a spinout of PayPal, which he referred to as a “potential financial juggernaut [that] lies buried inside eBay.” ????Donahoe acknowledged that eBay had considered a PayPal spinout but had concluded that it didn’t make much sense. In a January blog post, the company wrote: ????Based on what we see today, we continue to believe that the company, our customers and our shareholders are best served by keeping PayPal and eBay together… ????Payments is an essential part of commerce. Everyone loves to shop. No one loves to pay. So we focus on taking the friction out of paying. We strive to make it easy, safe and secure. And we’re innovating to make payments a way to drive engagement and create more value for consumers and merchants. ????This is what we do – and we have been successful exactly because PayPal and eBay are together. It’s why we believe we are so well positioned to lead in the blended worlds of online and offline commerce. ????No other payments competitor has achieved PayPal’s success – because no other competitor has a commerce platform like eBay. In fact, today we see more and more commerce and payments competitors trying to replicate the eBay and PayPal model. We are seeing a convergence of commerce and payments businesses, not a separation. ????Donahoe also told Fortune: “PayPal will be larger than the eBay Marketplace. PayPal has enormous potential. And we are completely capable of driving that potential.” ????Icahn ultimately conceded his fight after being given a board member (ex-AT&T CEO David Dorman), and today maintains a 2.48% equity stake in the company. But if eBay goes forward with a PayPal spinout in 2015, it would be a tacit admission that Icahn had been right all along. Moreover, it also would be an acknowledgment that some of the less flattering things Icahn said about Donahoe’s business acumen were on the money. ????The Information suggests that one new variable was the subsequent departure of PayPal CEO David Marcus for Facebook , and that eBay may need to dangle the “independent company” carrot in order to find a qualified successor. But here it runs into the same dilemma: If eBay really believes PayPal is best off as part of the mothership, why would it want to hire someone who believes differently? And could Marcus have been retained in the first place had eBay followed Icahn’s plan? ????To be sure, we have seen CEOs fall on their rhetorical swords before. If eBay does spin out PayPal, then that’s exactly what Donahoe would have to do. The only question is if the resulting wound would be fatal. |
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