Former eBay CEO Whitman says company had hoped to acquire online ad site Craigslist

Whitman says eBay wanted all of Craigslist

GEORGETOWN, Del. — Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman says she’s unaware of any attempt by the Internet marketplace to misuse confidential data from Craigslist to help eBay expand into online classifieds.

Whitman, a Republican candidate for California governor, was the first witness in a trial that began Monday in Delaware, pitting eBay Inc. and Craigslist.

EBay claims that Craigslist founder Craig Newmark and CEO Jim Buckmaster improperly acted to dilute eBay’s minority interest after a falling out in 2007. Craigslist claims in a countersuit that eBay used its stake to gain information to help it form a competing classified service, Kijiji.

Asked by eBay’s attorney whether she was aware of any effort by eBay to surreptitiously acquire the “secret sauce” of ingredients that spelled business success for Craigslist, Whitman simply responded, “No.”