Internet giant eBay sues Craigslist

SAN JOSE, Calif., April 23 (UPI) -- Internet auction giant eBay has filed suit against online classified listings firm Craigslist claiming the Web site "unfairly diluted" its interests.

EBay purchased 28 percent of Craigslist in 2004. In January 2008, Craigslist "adopted measures that, among other things, unfairly diluted eBay's economic interest … by more than 10 percent," the company said in a release.

Craigslist Chief Executive Director of Jim Buckmaster responded to the filing in an online blog, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Wednesday.

"EBay has absolutely no reason to feel threatened -- unless a hostile takeover of Craigslist, or the sale of eBay's stake in Craigslist to an unfriendly party, is their ultimate goal," Buckmaster wrote. "In which case, they're out of luck."

The suit, filed in a Delaware court, was sealed and details were scarce in the eBay news release.

"Why is eBay going public and quibbling about this?" said business analyst Rick Munarriz. "It could be a huge story, but we have so little to go on."