Square to Acquire Afterpay

Square, Inc. (NYSE: SQ) is to acquire all of the issued shares in Australian Afterpay Limited (ASX: APT) by way of a recommended court-approved Scheme of Arrangement.

The transaction has an implied value of approximately US$29 billion (A$39 billion) based on the closing price of Square common stock on July 30, 2021, and is expected to be paid in all stock. The closing of the deal is expected in the first quarter of calendar year 2022, subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions outlined below.

Square plans to integrate Afterpay into its existing Seller and Cash App business units, enabling merchants to offer BNPL at checkout, giving Afterpay consumers the ability to manage their installment payments directly in Cash App, and give Cash App customers the ability to discover merchants and BNPL offers directly within the app.

Led by Anthony Eisen and Nick Molnar, Co-Founders and Co-CEOs, who will both join Square upon completion of the transaction, Afterpay provides a global ‘buy now, pay later’ (BNPL) platform, serving more than 16 million consumers and nearly 100,000 merchants globally, including major retailers across key verticals such as fashion, homewares, beauty, sporting goods and more. It also assists merchants in growing their businesses by helping to drive repeat purchases, increase average transaction sizes, and provide their buyers with the ability to pay over time. Afterpay is currently available in Australia, United States, Canada, New Zealand, and in the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Spain, where it is known as Clearpay.

Eisen and Molnar will help lead Afterpay’s respective merchant and consumer businesses, as part of Square’s Seller and Cash App ecosystems. Square will appoint one Afterpay director as a member of the Square Board following closing.

Led by Jack Dorsey, Co-Founder and CEO, Square builds tools to empower businesses and individuals to participate in the economy. Sellers use its tools to reach buyers online and in person, manage their business, and access financing. Individuals use Cash App to spend, send, store, and invest money. In addition, the company provides TIDAL, a global music and entertainment platform that expands Square’s purpose of economic empowerment to artists. The company has offices in the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, Ireland, Spain, Norway, and the UK.

In July, Square acquired Crew, a frontline employee platform for consolidating and streamlining the day-to-day operations of hourly workforces.

FinSMEs

03/08/2021