EBay acquires social commerce firm The Gifts Project

EBay has acquired social commerce firm The Gifts Project. The San Francisco-based company produces a platform that allows consumers to make purchases as a group from e-commerce sites.

The Gifts Project team will be a part of eBay's Israel Social Center, which is responsible for creating social shopping platforms, eBay said in a blog post.

“The Gifts Project team will help expand and grow group-gifting capabilities within eBay and expand and build expertise in developing products that leverage social networks across eBay Marketplaces,” said eBay spokesperson Johnna Hoff, via email.

EBay has worked with The Gifts Project on eBay Group Gifts, launched last November, which integrated Facebook with eBay and PayPal.

Hoff did not immediately answer questions about the post-acquisition structure of the company.

Earlier this week, eBay hired Devin Wenig, former CEO of Thomson Reuters' Markets division, as president of its global eBay Marketplaces business unit. He will report to John Donahoe, president and CEO of eBay.