EBay's PayPal bid under scrutiny

Daily Newsletters

Sign up to ZDNet UK's daily newsletter.

Topics

eBay, PayPal

NEWS
PayPal and its prospective owner, eBay, are under new scrutiny from federal regulators. PayPal received two federal grand jury subpoenas last month concerning its processing of online gambling transactions, in addition to requests from federal regulators regarding the proposed merger with eBay, according to regulatory filings. Before eBay announced the proposed $1.5bn deal in July, PayPal had met with federal regulators to discuss allegedly anti-competitive practices by the auction site, the companies said in separate regulatory documents. The new inquiries follow an earlier subpoena from the attorney general of New York regarding its online gambling business and five lawsuits that were filed on behalf of PayPal shareholders in an effort to stop the eBay-PayPal merger, alleging that the price eBay is paying for PayPal is inadequate. The latest subpoenas regarding online gambling were issued at the request of the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri, PayPal said in its quarterly report, filed on Tuesday. The subpoena was for documents related to its online gambling business, the company said. PayPal "intends to cooperate fully with the United States Attorney's office in this matter," the company said in its regulatory filing. Representatives from PayPal and eBay did not return calls seeking additional comment. A representative from the US Attorney's office for the Eastern District of Missouri declined to confirm or deny the subpoenas or whether the office was investigating PayPal. As with other mergers, eBay's acquisition of PayPal is subject to regulatory review of antitrust concerns. The US Department of Justice has already requested more documents about the merger and met with both companies, the companies said in separate regulatory filings on Tuesday. Because of their global operations, the companies could also face scrutiny from overseas regulators. As recently as June, PayPal representatives submitted documents or met with Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission officials as part of its allegation that eBay was engaged in anti-competitive acts toward PayPal, the company said in its quarterly report. Representatives for the Justice Department and the FTC did not return calls seeking comment. PayPal has been the subject of repeated legal scrutiny in recent months. State regulators from New York and other states have questioned whether the company is running an illegal bank or unlicensed money transmitter service. PayPal has since tried to address those concerns by obtaining or seeking money transmitter licenses in a number of states. The company also faces several class-action lawsuits filed on behalf of customers who alleged that PayPal illegally restricted access to their accounts. Meanwhile, the company is involved in several patent disputes concerning its online payment system.

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

  • Login

Will not be displayed with your comment

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

Moley

For Gnome 2 die-hards, it is possible to add icons to the bottom panel (or top top panel, if you prefer) which provide the exact Gnome 2...

28 minutes ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
ramwellian

Your comments would seem pretty naive and immature. Your 'solution' appears to be, "gee, let's all just give in to the hackers and give them...

41 minutes ago by ramwellian on Cloud computing security: no more oxymoron?
BugStalker

"Interesting thought ... If you installed Win7 as a dual boot on a machine that previously only had Linux, and it wrecked your Linux installation,...

60 minutes ago by BugStalker on Windows 7 Declares War on GRUB
whs001

This is an excellent summary of Ubuntu and Mint and the interface differences between them. Most such articles take a very partisan position for...

1 hour ago by whs001 on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Moley

@ewallace. Not so clear. Anyone can obtain the text, for example from here http://www.ustr.gov/webfm_send/2379. I support ACTA so long as it and...

1 hour ago by Moley on ACTA: Facts, misconceptions and questions
45283

I think WinRT is fantastic. I just wish it was an option for people that didn't want to go through Microsoft's App Store with its attendant...

4 hours ago by 45283 on Why Windows 8 needs architectural hygiene for WOA
Burn-IT

Nine people? £30m? Who's back pocket is that lot going in? And IF they say it is for new buildings, what about all the ones the government has...

6 hours ago by Burn-IT on Police set to launch three £30m e-crime hubs
ewallace

Just to be clear, nobody knows what is in the text of ACTA, here is a photograph of the text of ACTA http://twitpic.com/8h9iju as submitted to the...

6 hours ago by ewallace on ACTA: Facts, misconceptions and questions
fgvrg56

Unfortunately main issue is that ASUS is refusing to accept that they make some mistake on this version of asus Transformer prime. 1 - GPS sensor...

7 hours ago by fgvrg56 on Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime Wi-Fi & GPS problems?
Ben Woods

@Marcus A fair question. Just talked with Archos which said it was working on an announcement for next week....

8 hours ago by Ben Woods on Archos confirms G9 Ice Cream Sandwich update schedule

Any update on this, considering the claimed "first week of February"?

9 hours ago by via Facebook on Archos confirms G9 Ice Cream Sandwich update schedule
apexwm

Bill Goodrich : Just as al_langevin pointed out, with Windows Server 2008 there is no Services for Macintosh anymore. It's gone, not available....

17 hours ago by apexwm on Windows Server 2008 drops the ball for Mac compatibility
txtrainguy

Replying to an old topic that I'm currently facing with my CEO (who is on a Mac). Our servers are primarily Windows Servers, office is about...

24 hours ago by txtrainguy on Windows Server 2008 drops the ball for Mac compatibility
k0tcs3

Sure, that makes perfect sense. Pay wrong-doers money and thank them for breaching your security and pointing out your flaws, that would surely...

1 day ago by k0tcs3 on US indicts Romanian over NASA climate change hack
Random_Error

I think he's referring specifically to Android apps, as Apple do regulate their App Store, but Google seem to let any old crap onto the Android store!

1 day ago by Random_Error on RIM: BlackBerry will keep 'garbage' apps out of store
Paul Fezziwig

Keep the crap apps out?! How will they compete with Android and Apple's claim to fame of having so many life changing apps? I wonder if the media...

1 day ago by Paul Fezziwig via Facebook on RIM: BlackBerry will keep 'garbage' apps out of store
Aigars Mahinovs

It has been shown time after time that if there is an author store that sells the songs at even 1$ per song and gives you a high-quality digital...

1 day ago by Aigars Mahinovs via Facebook on Copyright isn't working, says European Commission
awbMaven

""As a result of Butyka's alleged conduct, researchers were unable to use the computers for more than two months while NASA removed the malicious...

1 day ago by awbMaven on US indicts Romanian over NASA climate change hack
subhorup

It simultaneously worries me and uplifts me that a self-proclaimed group of internet activists name themselves after Indian mythical figures....

2 days ago by subhorup on Anonymous activists release PCAnywhere source code
naviathan

It's actually far easier to work anonymously on the internet than you think. With tools like Tor bouncing your traffic around the world before...

2 days ago by naviathan on Anonymous activists release PCAnywhere source code