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EBay sells Enterprise unit, tops profit expectations

The deal, which was being finalized late Wednesday, could be announced as soon as Thursday, when eBay is scheduled to release second-quarter financial results, the report said.

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The deal leaves eBay with its slow-growing marketplace business, which faces stiff competition from rivals such as Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O).

Resolving the fate of eBay Enterprise, formerly known as GSI Commerce, is among the final loose ends the company hoped to tie up before its new life as a stand-alone company.

A spokesperson for eBay said that the firm does not comment on rumour and speculation, however in January activist investor Carl Icahn suggested that the firm was considering the sale of the unit.

The unit powers retail sites for companies like Ikea but in recent years it has seen a fall in customers as firms internalise their retail operations.

The people said there was no guarantee a deal would be reached, the newspaper reported.

Net income fell to $83-million, or 7 cents per share, for the second quarter ended June 30, from $676-million, or 53 cents per share, a year earlier.

PayPal, which has 165 million accounts and gets 24 percent of its transactions on EBay, estimated earnings of $1.23 to $1.27 a share, excluding items, on sales growth of 15 percent to 18 percent.

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Net revenue rose to $4.38 billion from $4.10 billion.

EBay Enterprise provides marketing payment processing and fulfillment technology services