Ebay Inc has agreed to sell its classified ads business to Norwegian group Adevinta in a deal worth 9.2 billion U.S. dollars, creating the world's largest classifieds group, the companies said on Tuesday.

Ebay will receive 2.5 billion U.S. dollars in cash and 540 million shares of Adevinta, making it the largest shareholder with a 44-percent stake of the pro forma company, they said.

"Adevinta becomes the largest online classifieds company globally, with a unique portfolio of leading marketplace brands," Adevinta CEO Rolv Erik Ryssdal said.

The company will have market presence in 20 countries, covering one billion people with three billion visits every month.

"We believe the combination of the two companies, with their complementary businesses, creates one of the most exciting and compelling equity stories in the online classifieds sector," Ryssdal said.

Adevinta was spun out of Nordic media company Schibsted and listed on the Oslo bourse last year.

Its shares jumped by 39 percent on the news after trading that had been halted resumed while Schibsted shares were up by 21 percent.

Adevinta was spun out of Nordic media company Schibsted and listed on the Oslo bourse last year.

It owns brands such as Leboncoin, France's biggest online classified ads website, Brazil's OLX and dozens more across Europe, the Americas and North Africa.

The eBay Classifieds Group includes the Gumtree and Kijiji brands, and offers online ads to more than 1,000 cities around the world. The business posted an operating income of 83 million U.S. dollars on revenue of 248 million U.S. dollars in the first quarter of 2020.

The transaction, which is expected to close by the first quarter of 2021, targets 150-185 million U.S. dollars in annual synergies within three years.

It will mean Schibsted's stake in Adevinta falls to about 33 percent from 59 percent, Schibsted said separately.

(Cover: German headquarters of online marketplace eBay is pictured at Europarc Dreilinden business park south of Berlin in Kleinmachnow, Germany, August 6, 2019. /Reuters)