EBay to Pay AOL Less in Advertising Deal

EBay Inc., the world’s biggest Internet auction site, said it will pay less to AOL Time Warner Inc. after renegotiating an advertising sales and marketing agreement last month.

EBay will pay a maximum of $15 million in the agreement’s first renewal year, rather than the $18.8 million it was to have paid in the period ending March23, 2004, the company said in a filing with U.S. regulators.

AOL Time Warner shares closed at a 3 1/2-year low, falling 82 cents, or 4.6%, to $16.98 on the NYSE. Shares of San Jose-based EBay fell 66 cents, or 1.2%, to $53 on Nasdaq.

AOL provides online advertising and marketing services for EBay. EBay is a provider of online trading services on AOL sites. The two companies have a co-branded Web site.