EBay to split off lucrative PayPal business

NEW YORK — EBay is splitting off its fastest growing segment, mobile payment service PayPal, the e-commerce company said Tuesday.

Investors applauded the news, sending eBay's shares up nearly 7 percent in morning trading.

The move comes after months of pressure from activist investor and billionaire Carl Icahn, who has a 2.5 percent state in eBay, according to FactSet. EBay CEO John Donahoe had been adamant that splitting off PayPal was the wrong move for the company. But Tuesday, the company said that making the mobile payment service a separate publicly traded company next year "maximizes strategic focus and flexibility for eBay."

Read Wednesday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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