• August 14, 2004

Online auctioneer eBay bought a 25 percent stake in popular classified listings provider Craigslist on Friday. Terms were not disclosed, but the announcement said eBay had purchased a "pre-existing minority interest." The company said it did not expect its minority interest to change its financial outlook for Q3 or for the full year 2004.

eBay has built a global brand in nine years with thousands of categories, becoming one of the Web's top retail and merchandise destinations. Craigslist is a classifieds listings provider of everything from jobs to furniture and gadgets. The company's strength has been the employment category--the only category in which it charges anything--and its real estate category.