eBay bought Bill Me Later and paid immediately in cash

A definitive agreement was achieved by eBay Inc. with Bill Me Later(R), the number two online-oriented payments brand to acquire the company for approximately $820 million in cash and approximately $125 million worth of outstanding options, net of option exercise proceeds. With the acquisition eBay will extend its leadership and combine Bill Me Later with eBay's PayPal, the number one online-oriented payments brand. The deal will be likely completed by the end of the year.

The agreement will result in a number of benefits. 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 in turn will be able to expand its client base to approximately 1,000 of the most popular Web sites with multitude of online shoppers using Bill Me Later payment option.

A conjoint operation of PayPal and Bill Me Later will better meet consumers' needs both on and off eBay. Buyers will be able to quickly, safely and easily purchase the items they want online and pay for them immediately or over time. Under one payment relationship retailers and eBay sellers can offer two of the Web's most innovative payment methods.

Bill Me Later will be further managed by Gary Marino who is to report to Thompson as part of the PayPal senior executive team.