Yahoo! withdraws some of its European auctions

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Yahoo! Inc. said Thursday it plans to pull most of its online auction initiatives in Europe and instead promote eBay's market-leading auction site there.

Yahoo said that in six weeks, it will shut down auction services on five of its European Web sites: Britain and Ireland, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Under a marketing deal with eBay, Yahoo will feature advertisements touting eBay auction services there. Yahoo decided to close the auctions after a review last year, Rob Solomon, senior vice president of Yahoo's commerce division, said Thursday. In Europe, it is typically a distant third-place player.

"We're looking at businesses where we can grow and be most profitable," he said. That means resources will be shifted to commerce initiatives such as Yahoo! Shopping and Yahoo! Travel.