Shares of eBay rose nearly 7 percent on a report that billionaire and activist investor Carl Icahn may be getting his way when it comes to splitting off the company’s Paypal business.
In fact, eBay has been telling candidates for the top job at PayPal that the payments arm could separate from the parent company as early as next year, TheInformation.com reported on Thursday.
John Donahoe, eBay’s chief executive, has been acting as temporary CEO of both companies after PayPal head honcho Dave Marcus left for Facebook in June.
Shares of eBay hit an intraday high of $56.98 on the news before closing up 4.6 percent, at $55.89.
The company downplayed the report on Thursday, saying its “position has not changed.”
“As we discussed during proxy season and in our Q2 financial results call, the board will continue to assess all alternatives to create that long-term value,” eBay said.
At the time of the board’s battle with Icahn, however, Donahoe insisted that the two companies were better sticking together.