Payments giant Square has announced the acquisition of Afterpay, an Australian buy now, pay later (BNPY) fintech startup, in an all-stock deal valued at ~$29 billion, making it one of the largest cross-border buyouts of an Australian company. Afterpay shareholders will receive 0.375 of Square class A stock for each share of Afterpay, implying a price of A$126.21 per share based on Square’s closing price of July 30. The acquisition price is more than 30% more than Afterpay’s most recent closing price of A$96.66. The deal is scheduled to conclude in the first quarter of 2022, depending on closing conditions.
Founded in 2014 by Anthony Eisen and Nick Molnar, Afterpay allows shoppers to receive products immediately and pay in simple installments over a short period of time. The startup has 100,000 merchants globally using the platform with more than 16 million customers.
Founded in 2009 by Jack Dorsey, Buzz Andersen and Jim McKelvey, San Francisco based Square is a merchant services aggregator and mobile payment company that aims to simplify commerce through technology.
Melbourne-based Afterpay is publicly traded on Australia’s ASX exchange while Square is listed on Nasdaq.
