Is Ebay starting to unload Meg Whitman’s goofy acquisitions?

Under the stewardship of it’s former CEO, Meg Whitman, Ebay spent billions buying up businesses with minimal synergies while allowing its broken core business to slide. So far, Ebay’s new management has done little to slow the exodus of buyers and sellers from its auction / marketplace site.  The spinning off of Stumble Upon could mean the current management is ready to unload these distractions.

now the company has been spun off to start life over as an independent startup, backed by new investors and the original founders.

The new company is led by co-founder Garrett Camp, who now steps into the CEO role. Co-founder Geoff Smith also joins Camp in returning to lead the company, but in an unannounced role. The company is backed by Sherpalo Ventures, Accel Partners, and August Capital. David Hornik from August Capital and Sameer Gandhi of Accel Partners join the board. (Tech Crunch)

There’s also rumblings that Skype is in play for a sale back to its original owners.

While none of this will cure Ebay’s woes, the refocusing on its marketplace is a good first step towards the fix. Another good clue for management is that at one time  Ebay almost ran itself profitably without much oversight. That was until the suits stepped in and broke it.