Internet auction giant Ebay Inc. said Monday it is buying online payment facilitator PayPal Inc. for $1.5 billion in stock in a long-rumored deal that would mark the end of eBay's rival, in-house electronic payment program... "Ebay and PayPal have complementary missions. We both empower people to buy and sell online," said Meg Whitman, Ebay's chief executive. "Together we can improve the user experience and make online trading more compelling. We can also capture greater value from the e-commerce opportunities occurring both on and off our site." San Jose-based Ebay hopes to close the acquisition by the end of the year if regulators and shareholders approve, and then phase out Ebay Payments by Billpoint, which never proved as popular with Ebay users as PayPal. The deal calls for PayPal shares to be converted into 0.39 shares of Ebay, which at Friday's closing prices values PayPal at $1.5 billion. Source: Washington Post