EBay Is Said Near $700 Million Deal for Qoo10's Japan Assets

(Bloomberg) -- EBay Inc., operator of the namesake online marketplace, is close to a deal for the Japanese assets of e-commerce site Qoo10, a person familiar with the matter said.

The San Jose, California-based company is buying the assets from its joint-venture partner Giosis Pte, the person said, asking not to be identified as the details are private. Under the proposed $700 million deal, EBay would give up its stake in Giosis, the person said.

Japan is the biggest market for Qoo10, and part of an e-commerce business that also operates in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. The company is backed by investors including Singapore Press Holdings Ltd., Saban Capital Group and Oak Investment Partners.

A deal in Japan would bolster EBay's position in Northeast Asia. The company bought South Korean online retailer Gmarket Inc. for $1.2 billion in 2009.

Representatives at Qoo10 and Giosis didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. A representative for EBay declined to comment.

Japanese e-commerce provider Rakuten Inc. and Yahoo Japan Corp., which operates some retail sites, both fell 0.8 percent, while Japan stocks rose more than 1 percent. Start Today Co., another e-commerce player in Japan, fell as much as 4.8 percent, the most in three weeks.

--With assistance from Sam Kim

To contact the reporter on this story: Yoolim Lee in Singapore at yoolim@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Robert Fenner at rfenner@bloomberg.net, Edwin Chan

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