Digital service payment company and financial service provider Square Inc. (SQ) will be leading a $29 billion buyout deal for Australia based financial technology company Afterpay Ltd. (ASX: APT). Square says this deal will be a buy-now-pay-later (BNPL).
This deal takes into account the remarkable rally of Afterpay’s stock which in the beginning of last year was trading below A$10 however when the pandemic set foot in the face of the world, many were pushed to work from home resulting to a surge in online shopping.
This increase in online shopping directly translated to an astronomical surge in the price of the company’s stock. In a joint statement by the two companies, the Afterpay’s stock will be valued at A$126.21 ($92.65) in the all-stock buyout deal.
Founders of Afterpay, Anthony Eisen and Nick Molnar, will each receive A$2.46 billion from this buyout deal. China based technology company Tencent Holding Ltd (HKG: 0700) which in last year paid A$300 million for 5% stake in Afterpay will receive A$1.7 billion.
The founders of the company said this deal marks an important recognition of Australia’s technology sector as homegrown innovation continues to be shared more widely across the world.
