Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)‘s latest hiring of David Marcus from eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY)‘s unit, PayPal, has popped up a new series of questions as to what will be the next move by the social networking site. Many feel that the hiring hints at Facebook’s plan to acquire eBay itself, while, on the other hand, speculations of buying out PayPal alone are also making the rounds. Amid the buzz, CNBC tried to find out the real reason of the Facebook’s latest hire with Technalysis Research Founder and Chief Analyst, Bob O’Donnell.
Not Out Of Question
Bob O’Donnell said:
“Marcus was a part of Pay Pal, which is a piece of eBay and not all of the eBay. So, there is a question about the financial aspect as whether Facebook wants to get into some money generating services along the lines of Pay Pal or e-commerce. But it is not known if it could buy whole of eBay.”
Though Donnell does not deny the possibilities of Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)’s hiring move as strategy to buy eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY). It is noteworthy that activist investor, Carl Icahn had repeatedly requested to spin off PayPal division, but eBay has so far strongly rebuffed the idea.
Monetizing Messaging Services
At the same time, Donnell sees Marcus’ new role in Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) in its messaging team as more of a way to find out ways to monetize from the division. Moreover, the company’s hiring move comes on top of its latest $19 billion acquisition of WhatsApp and splitting out its messenger service, therefore, it hints at Facebook’s active approach towards messaging unit than anything else.
Donnell also highlighted that Facebook accidentally released the iPhone version of its new app called Slingshot, which is more in the lines of Snapchat. However, he does not see much of the variation in the latest messaging offerings and finds it interesting to learn how the new services helps bring money for the company.
D. E. Shaw raised his stake in Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) by 52% in the first quarter of 2014, and holds 9.03 million shares. On the other hand Andreas Halvorsen’s Viking Global, trimmed its stake in the company by 52% during the same period and now holds 8.82 million shares.
Icahn Capital Lp, managed by Carl Icahn initiated a position in eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) in the first quarter of 2014, holding 27.80 million shares.
Disclosure: none
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