Dive Brief:

• The escalating battle of words over eBay investor Carl Icahn’s public push to split PayPal from eBay simmered down after Icahn and eBay chief executive John Donahoe shared a meal at Icahn’s New York City apartment, Bloomberg reports.

• Several advisors had advised Donahoe to reach out to Icahn and urged the two to continue talking, which resulted in a major de-escalation of the drama.

• As result, eBay Thursday said it would tap a new independent director to its board, and Icahn eased off his bid to add his own hand-picked board members and force the spinoff he wants.

Dive Insight:

The outcome of this drama is best encapsulated in eBay CEO John Donahoe’s remarks Thursday: “Part of what happens is you get to know someone. There’s something about face-to-face business.” The battle between eBay and Icahn has been contentious and even ugly at times, with attacks from both sides, but tensions now are officially eased. No word on what was on the menu, but it probably was delicious.