December 2011. eBay Inc. today announced that it has acquired BillSAFE, a leading provider of purchase-on-invoice technology in Germany. The acquisition extends the company’s leadership in payments by combining BILLSAFE with eBay’s PayPal, a global leader in online payments. The deal follows eBay Inc.’s minority stake investment in the company in October 2010. eBay Inc. now owns 100 percent of the outstanding shares of BillSAFE. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
By combining BillSAFE with PayPal, which serves more than 15 million accounts in Germany, PayPal believes the addition of BILLSAFE will provide a comprehensive payment service for merchants and consumers. BillSAFE works with merchants of all sizes in Germany, giving them a simple and secure way to let shoppers purchase using an invoice. Customers simply select the item they want to buy, and then they receive an invoice for payment after the item is received.
Purchase on invoice is the most popular form of payment in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands. In German e-commerce alone, 19.6 percent of payments were billed via invoice. According to the latest study on e-commerce by EuPD research, 84.8 percent of German online shoppers have already purchased on invoice.
“German customers are extremely security-conscious, and they enjoy the convenience and safety of invoicing when they shop online. One of PayPal’s greatest assets is the security of our system, and we’re glad that we can now offer customers even more peace of mind with a payment method that they already know and prefer and that drives more sales for the merchants. Together with BillSAFE, we can offer even more choices to our customers – whether they prefer to pay with their bank accounts, their credit cards or now through purchase on invoice”
– Arnulf Keese, managing director of PayPal Germany
“Purchase on invoice is an ideal addition to the payment options available with PayPal and makes it the most comprehensive service for consumers and merchants alike. Security-conscious shoppers can receive and inspect the merchandise they bought online before paying for their purchases. And merchants can sell to customers who were previously skeptical of buying online. It’s an ideal match.”
– Alexander Ey, managing director of BillSAFE
Corporate Finance Partners – now ACXIT Capital Partners – acted as exclusive advisor to the founders in the original financing round in 2010 and during the trade sale of the remaining shares.
“BillSAFE found a great strategic partner in PayPal. The operative synergies and their cultural fit will certainly fuel future growth further.”
– Christoph Neuhaus, Senior Associate and project leader for both transactions
eBay Inc. does not expect the acquisition of BillSAFE to have a material impact on its financial guidance as issued in conjunction with its third quarter earnings release on October 19, 2011.
Founded in 1995 in San Jose, Calif., eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) is about enabling commerce. We do so through eBay, the world’s largest online marketplace, which allows users to buy and sell in nearly every country on earth; through PayPal, which enables individuals and businesses to securely, easily and quickly send and receive online payments; and through GSI, which facilitates ecommerce, multichannel retailing and digital marketing for global enterprises. X.commerce brings together the technology assets and developer communities of eBay, PayPal and Magento, an ecommerce platform, to support eBay Inc.’s mission of enabling commerce. We also reach millions through specialized marketplaces such as StubHub, the world’s largest ticket marketplace, and eBay classifieds sites, which together have a presence in more than 1,000 cities around the world. (www.ebayinc.com)
Founded in 2006, BillSAFE is a specialized factoring company for the processing of invoice based e-commerce payments. BillSAFE provides both the seller and the buyer complete security in the online payment processing with its online invoice payment solution. Sensitive account or credit card information are no longer required from customers for the online payment. At the same time, the seller receives full protection against default of payment. (www.billsafe.de)
PayPal is the faster, safer way to pay and get paid online. The service allows members to send money without sharing financial information, with the flexibility to pay using their account balances, bank accounts, credit cards or promotional financing. With more than 90 million active accounts in 190 markets and 24 currencies around the world, PayPal enables global ecommerce. PayPal is an eBay company and is made up of three leading online payment services: the PayPal global payment service, the Payflow Gateway and Bill Me Later. (www.paypal.com)
About ACXIT
ACXIT Capital Partners is a leading independent corporate finance and investment advisory firm for mid-market clients and entrepreneurs in Europe and beyond. Since 1998, ACXIT offers its clients comprehensive corporate finance advisory services including M&A and capital markets advisory as well as restructuring, equity/debt and strategic advisory. As an independent, privately owned firm we maintain offices and representations in Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, Leipzig, Zurich, Hong Kong and New York, as well as strong alliances in France, China and India. (www.acxit.com)
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