eBay vs. Craigslist: Your Friendly Neighborhood Lawsuit

ebay vs craigslist

Who would have thought these two would end up not getting along?

LOS ANGELES — EBay (NASDAQ: EBAY), the world’s largest online auctioneer, sued Craigslist, a competitor in which it holds an ownership stake, in a dispute over whether the Internet bulletin board tried to blunt eBay’s control.

EBay alleged in the lawsuit that the board of directors of Craigslist, the Web’s dominant classifieds listing service, took “unilateral actions” to dilute eBay’s 28.4 percent stake by more than 10 percent, eBay said in a statement.

The suit, filed on Tuesday under seal, asked a Delaware Chancery Court to rescind the unspecified actions to protect eBay’s stockholders and preserve its stake in Craigslist.

The suit names as defendants Craigslist founder, Craig Newmark, who runs the company in a famously open-minded style, and Chief Executive Jim Buckmaster. Newmark and Buckmaster are the only members of Craigslist’s board of directors. [Reuters/InternetNews]