科技新闻刊物《The Information》日前刊登的一篇报道称，购物网站eBay一直向潜在新雇员透露，该公司最快可能会在明年将支付业务PayPal拆分出去。如果迈出这一步，eBay首席执行官约翰•多纳霍就得做出一些解释。

    今年早些时候，维权投资者卡尔•伊坎曾大声疾呼拆分PayPal，他把PayPal称为“一个埋没在eBay内部的金融巨人”。

    多纳霍承认，eBay曾考虑过拆分PayPal，但最终认为此举并不合理。该公司在1月的博客中写道：

    “基于目前面对的形势，我们仍认为，PayPal和eBay一体化运营，最符合公司、客户和股东的利益。”

    “支付是极为重要的商业环节。大家都喜欢购物，但没有人喜欢付钱。因此，我们全身心地致力于消除这种支付阻力，并努力让支付变得便捷、安全和稳妥。我们也在不断创新，试图让支付成为推动参与感的一种方式，并为客户和商家创造更多的价值。”

    “这就是我们所做的工作。正是由于PayPal和eBay结合在一起，我们才一直能够立于不败之地。这也是我们为什么相信我们正处于一个非常有利的位置，能够成为在线和线下商务世界的领导者。”

    “在支付领域，PayPal创造了其他竞争对手无法企及的成功，因为其他竞争对手都没有eBay这样的商务平台。事实上，如今越来越多的商务和支付竞争对手都试图复制eBay和PayPal的模式。商务和支付业务的趋势是融合，而不是分离。”

    多纳霍向《财富》杂志透露：“PayPal的规模将超过eBay市场。PayPal还有巨大的潜力可挖，而且我们完全有能力释放这一潜力。”

    在eBay将美国电话电报公司（AT&T）前首席执行官大卫•多曼纳入董事会后，伊坎最终做出让步，他目前仍持有该公司2.48%的股份。但是，如果eBay在2015年启动PayPal剥离程序，那也就等于默认，伊坎的建议是对的。此外，伊坎曾用一些不怎么中听的话来评论多纳霍的商业头脑，这样做也等于完全承认了伊坎的这些评价。

    《The Information》指出，PayPal前首席执行官大卫•马库斯跳槽至Facebook让事情出现了新的变化，而eBay可能需要以“PayPal独立”为诱饵来寻找合适的继任者。然而在这里，eBay又陷入了同样自相矛盾的境地：如果eBay真的认为两者的结合才是最符合PayPal利益的出路，那为什么又要聘用一个意见相左的继任者？而且，如果eBay一开始就听从伊坎的建议，马库斯是不是就不会离开了呢？

    诚然，首席执行官们大打口水仗并不是什么稀奇事。如果eBay要拆分PayPal，那么多纳霍就只有这一条路可走。唯一的问题在于，随之而来的伤痛是否致命。（财富中文网）

    译者：Feng

    eBayhas been telling potential new hires that may spin off its PayPal business by as early as next year, according to a new report today from The Information. If it pulls the trigger, then eBay CEO John Donahoe will have some ‘splainin’ to do.

    Earlier this year, activist investor Carl Icahn vociferously agitated for a spinout of PayPal, which he referred to as a “potential financial juggernaut [that] lies buried inside eBay.”

    Donahoe acknowledged that eBay had considered a PayPal spinout but had concluded that it didn’t make much sense. In a January blog post, the company wrote:

    Based on what we see today, we continue to believe that the company, our customers and our shareholders are best served by keeping PayPal and eBay together…

    Payments is an essential part of commerce. Everyone loves to shop. No one loves to pay. So we focus on taking the friction out of paying. We strive to make it easy, safe and secure. And we’re innovating to make payments a way to drive engagement and create more value for consumers and merchants.

    This is what we do – and we have been successful exactly because PayPal and eBay are together. It’s why we believe we are so well positioned to lead in the blended worlds of online and offline commerce.

    No other payments competitor has achieved PayPal’s success – because no other competitor has a commerce platform like eBay. In fact, today we see more and more commerce and payments competitors trying to replicate the eBay and PayPal model. We are seeing a convergence of commerce and payments businesses, not a separation.

    Donahoe also told Fortune: “PayPal will be larger than the eBay Marketplace. PayPal has enormous potential. And we are completely capable of driving that potential.”

    Icahn ultimately conceded his fight after being given a board member (ex-AT&T CEO David Dorman), and today maintains a 2.48% equity stake in the company. But if eBay goes forward with a PayPal spinout in 2015, it would be a tacit admission that Icahn had been right all along. Moreover, it also would be an acknowledgment that some of the less flattering things Icahn said about Donahoe’s business acumen were on the money.

    The Information suggests that one new variable was the subsequent departure of PayPal CEO David Marcus for Facebook , and that eBay may need to dangle the “independent company” carrot in order to find a qualified successor. But here it runs into the same dilemma: If eBay really believes PayPal is best off as part of the mothership, why would it want to hire someone who believes differently? And could Marcus have been retained in the first place had eBay followed Icahn’s plan?

    To be sure, we have seen CEOs fall on their rhetorical swords before. If eBay does spin out PayPal, then that’s exactly what Donahoe would have to do. The only question is if the resulting wound would be fatal.