Online marketplace eBay announced Friday that its separation from payment processing company PayPal will take place on July 17, after eBay’s board of directors gave its final stamp of approval.
Both companies will become independent and publicly traded companies after that date.
“eBay and PayPal are two great, special businesses,” said eBay CEO John Donahoe in a statement. “As separate, independent companies, eBay, led by Devin Wenig, and PayPal, led by Dan Schulman, will each have a sharper focus and greater flexibility to pursue future success in their respective global commerce and payments markets.”
Donahoe added: “I am confident that eBay and PayPal each have the right leadership team, strategy, structure and operational discipline to create sustainable, long-term value for stockholders and deliver great opportunities and experiences for customers worldwide.”
The news comes after eBay posted stronger than expected first quarter earnings, but sales of items in the site’s marketplace dropped 4% to $2 billion.