British company offers to buy Trade Me

A British private equity firm has put a $2.5 billion value on auction site Trade Me. Apax Partners is drawing up a bid to buy the site, and is expected to confirm its formal offer in a few weeks. Trade Me's board is reviewing the proposal. According to Trade Me folklore, 23-year-old Sam Morgan set up the online auction site in 1999 after struggling to buy a heater for his Wellington flat. It's come a long way since then. Mike "Mod" O'Donnell is a former chief operating officer at Trade Me. He talks to Guyon Espiner.