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Providing a platform for the auctioning of live cockfighting roosters, chinchillas, puppies, and other animals has been profitable for eBay's MercadoLibre.

Quote:MercadoLibre Inc., an E-Bay inc  partner in Latin America, filed late Friday to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering with underwriters J.P. Morgan  and Merrill Lynch & Co ...MercadoLibre reported 2006 net income of $1.1 million on $52 million in revenue, compared to net income of $2.4 million on $28.2 million in revenue in 2005...

full article: http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/St...FCDFC18%7d&siteid=yhoo&dist=yhoo

eBay/MercadoLibre Mexico: http://listado.mercadolibre.com.mx/_CategID_1071

More details:

Quote:Online trading company MercadoLibre Inc., which plans to go public, praises eBay Inc. for helping it become a Latin American business success _ but the two could become adversaries.

EBay owned a 19.5 percent stake in MercadoLibre as of March 31, but the San Jose, Calif.-based Internet auction service will need to decide whether it wants to compete in Latin America with MercadoLibre, which is planning an initial public offering.

"It's a dog-eat-dog world," said Tom Taulli, co-founder and analyst at Current Offerings, a Newport Beach, Calif., technology research firm that specializes in new offerings. "EBay needs to find growth."...

full article: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4832991.html

A related article:

Quote:EBay's south of the border plans are sparking a lot of speculation, following Friday's initial public offering by its Latin American partner, MercadoLibre...

Analysts and investors wonder how eBay plans to tap this opportunity, especially since growth in its U.S. core market is slowing and it has had troubles in China. There, its own site failed, and it's now trying to grow there as the 49% joint venture partner of Chinese mobile Internet firm Tom Online.

The question of eBay and Latin America is getting lots of attention following the IPO of MercadoLibre MELI. The company went out Friday at $18 a share and found a receptive market. Friday, it traded as high as 29 before closing at 28.50. Monday, it soared above 39 before closing at 31.65, up 11%...

full article: http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/arti...868983.htm

BW article on MercadoLibre:

Quote: Since its launch a few months after the fateful drive, MercadoLibre has become the biggest e-commerce site in Latin America when ranked by sales conducted on the site. Its 22 million registered users bought and sold more than $656 million in goods in the first half of 2007 alone, generating profit of more than $1.6 million. More than 20% of the 104 million people online in South and Central America shop on MercadoLibre's pages.

MercadoLibre's revenue and influence are likely to increase along with the growth of Internet use, much of it at high speeds, across Latin America. Since 2000, Internet usage has increased more than sixfold in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to InternetWorldStats.com, a market research site. Yet, only about 21% of the region's population is online, compared with more than 70% in North America. Broadband has reached only about 2% of Latin America's 548 million residents...

full article: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/c...technology