SAN JOSE, Calif. & TEL AVIV, Israel--eBay Inc. today announced that PayPal has agreed to acquire Fraud Sciences Ltd., a privately-held Israeli company with expertise in online risk tools, in a cash transaction with an aggregate transaction value of approximately $169 million. Fraud Sciences’ risk tools and analytics are expected to enhance eBay and PayPal’s proprietary fraud management systems and accelerate the development of next generation fraud detection tools.
The acquisition of Fraud Sciences fits into eBay’s recently announced plans to significantly improve trust and safety across its sites in 2008. “Integrating Fraud Sciences’ risk tools with PayPal’s sophisticated fraud management system should allow us to be even more effective in protecting eBay and PayPal's hundreds of millions of customers around the world," said Scott Thompson, President of PayPal.
Key personnel from Fraud Sciences, including Yossi Barak, Fraud Sciences’ COO, and founders Shvat Shaked and Saar Wilf, will join the company’s technology and fraud management teams. Gadi Maier, Fraud Sciences' President and CEO, will provide strategic and operational support to the company during the integration period.
This acquisition, which is subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, is expected to close within the next 30 days. eBay does not expect this acquisition to have a material impact on its 2008 financial guidance issued in conjunction with its fourth quarter earnings released on January 23, 2008.
About Fraud Sciences
Fraud Sciences is a leading innovator in online risk tools. Following years of intensive research, Fraud Sciences has developed a technology that differentiates between real and fraudulent transactions with unprecedented accuracy. Using this groundbreaking technology, Fraud Sciences offers a unique transaction verification service to manage online fraud. Fraud Sciences is funded by BRM Capital, Redpoint Ventures and other US and Israeli investors.
About eBay Inc.
Founded in 1995, eBay Inc. connects hundreds of millions of people around the world every day, empowering them to explore new opportunities and innovate together. eBay Inc. does this by providing the Internet platforms of choice for global commerce, payments and communications. Since its inception, eBay Inc. has expanded to include some of the strongest brands in the world, including eBay, PayPal, Skype, Shopping.com, and others. eBay Inc. is headquartered in San Jose, California.
About PayPal
PayPal is the safer, easier way to pay and get paid online. The service allows anyone to pay without sharing financial information and gives consumers the flexibility to pay in any way they prefer, including through credit cards, bank accounts or account balances. With more than 57 million active accounts in 190 markets and 17 currencies around the world, PayPal enables global ecommerce. PayPal is an eBay company. More information about the company can be found at https://www.paypal.com.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding eBay, PayPal and the expected impact of the acquisition of Fraud Sciences on eBay's financial guidance. Those statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results could differ materially from those discussed. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, the possibility that the transaction may not close, the reaction of competitors to the transaction, the possibility that integration following the transaction may be more difficult than expected, and the possibility that the expected benefits of the transaction may not materialize to the extent expected or at all. More information about potential factors which could affect eBay's business and financial results is included in eBay's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006 and eBay's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-K. All forward-looking statements are based on information available to eBay on the date hereof, and eBay assumes no obligation to update such statements.