eBay snaps up Southwark-based Gumtree

Kijiji, eBay's international classifieds group, has bought out Gumtree.com, founded in London in 2000 by Michael Pennington and Simon Crookall. Gumtree offers multiple city sites in a number of countries including the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.

"Gumtree and LoQUo [a Spanish firm also acquired by eBay] are key classifieds sites in the UK and Spain, respectively, and we are pleased to have them in the Kijiji family," said Alex Kazim, senior vice president of new ventures at eBay, responsible for Kijiji. "This is an important step forward in our strategy to expand our global portfolio of websites."