Online auctioneer eBay is to buy close associate and fellow dotcom survivor PayPal in a $1.5bn stock deal.
PayPal, a major online payment services company, conducts as much as 60 per cent of eBay customers' transactions already. In its announcement of the deal yesterday, eBay said it would begin to phase out its BillPoint service, purchased in 1999, in favour of PayPal.
"We think it will accelerate revenues at both companies," said eBay chief executive, Meg Whitman. "Currently only 40 per cent of the payments on eBay are done electronically, so there is a lot of room for growth."
Analysts said that the PayPal acquisition would make eBay transactions easier by adding a seamless payment system for customers.
eBay also reported that its second-quarter earnings figures would exceed expectations due to strong growth both in the US and around the world.