Square buys Australian giant Afterpay in $ 29 billion deal



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Jack Dorsey Creator, Co-Founder and Chairman of Twitter and Co-Founder and CEO of Square speaks on stage at the 2021 Bitcoin Convention, a cryptocurrency conference held at the Mana Convention Center in Wynwood on June 04, 2021 in Miami, Florida.

Joe Raedle | Getty Images

Square to buy Afterpay in Australia for around $ 29 billion in all-stock deal as the U.S. fintech firm seeks to capitalize on the growing popularity of buy now, pay later (BNPL) credit options .

The deal will create an online payment center and help accelerate Afterpay’s growth in the key U.S. market as well as globally, the companies said on Monday.

Afterpay was the forerunner of the niche online payments industry that burst into the mainstream last year as more people chose to pay in installments for everyday items during the pandemic. .

“Square and Afterpay have a common goal… Together, we can better connect our Cash App and Seller ecosystems to deliver even more compelling products and services to merchants and consumers,” said Jack Dorsey, CEO of Square.

Afterpay shareholders will get 0.375 Class A Square shares for every share they own, implying a price of around A $ 126.21 per share based on Square’s close on Friday, the companies said.

The offer represents a premium of over 30% over the last Afterpay close and shareholders of the Australian company are expected to own around 18.5% of the combined company.

Afterpay’s board of directors has unanimously recommended the deal to its shareholders, the company said in a joint statement.

Separately, Square reported a jump of more than 143% in total net sales for the second quarter.

The payments company, run by Twitter boss Jack Dorsey, reported total net revenue of $ 4.68 billion for the quarter ended in June, up from $ 1.92 billion last year.

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