TIMONIUM, MD – eBay Inc. (Nasdaq:EBAY) has agreed to acquire Timonium, MD-based Bill Me Later, an online payments solutions company for approximately $820 million in cash and about $125 million worth of outstanding options.
eBay says Bill Me Later is the number two online payments brand, behind only eBay’s own Paypal.
John Donahoe, eBay Inc. president and CEO said, “We now have a powerful combination of the two leading, complementary online payment products, each with proven benefits for consumers and online merchants. At an attractive valuation, our investment in Bill Me Later opens significant long-term growth opportunities.”
The deal offers strong synergies within the eBay portfolio. Bill Me Later can offer its deferred payments and promotional financing service to the tens of millions of customers who use eBay and PayPal.
PayPal expands its customer base to approximately 1,000 of the most popular Web sites and to the millions of online shoppers who use Bill Me Later.
Founded in 2000 by a team of seasoned professionals in the payments industry, Bill Me Later enables online retailers to offer transactional credit to consumers at the point of sale.
With sophisticated underwriting techniques and credit decision model, Bill Me Later provides approval decisions for shoppers within seconds without requiring them to complete detailed application forms.
“This deal makes perfect sense,” said Bruce Cundiff, director of payments research and consulting for Javelin Strategy & Research.
“Bill Me Later has adoption among the most popular large merchants on the Web, and PayPal is the way that many small merchants and eBay sellers accept payments online.
“Together, they can extend the presence of the two brands and offer even more choice for consumers when they shop online.”
Bill Me Later CEO Gary Marino will continue to run the company as a business unit of eBay.
On the Web: www.paypal.com; www.billmelater.com
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