Ebay (EBAY) has announced that it will bring around $9 billion of its foreign-held cash back to the US, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The e-commerce giant, which on Tuesday reported a Q1’14 loss of $2.3 billion, will have to take a $3 billion tax charge to bring this cash into the US.
In a move that appears to be one of the largest repatriations in recent years, the company said it will have to pay tax on the difference between the U.S. and foreign tax rates. The reason behind this move, is that Ebay wants the remaining $6 billion cash that it had previously designated as permanently invested overseas, to bankroll any potential acquisitions. That said, the company did say that they have no specific acquisition plans at the moment.
“We are an acquisitive company and we need to ensure we have the resources available to capitalize on targets that become available,” said Bob Swan, the San Jose, Calif., company’s chief financial officer. “To be clear, we are not announcing any large U.S.-based acquisition.”
Shares of eBay rose 1.68 percent to $54.54 at the close in New York. The online marketplace giant has now gained 3.81 percent in 2014.
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