Business
US payment giant to buy Afterpay in multi-billion dollar deal
Jack Dorsey’s Square has announced they are planning to buy Australia’s Afterpay in a $39 billion deal
American financial services company Square is planning to buy Australia’s Afterpay in a $39 billion dollar deal in the first quarter of 2022
In the press release announcing the acquisition, Square said the moved will “Bring together two of the fastest growing global fintech companies to advance shared mission of economic empowerment and financial inclusion“.
“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,” said Square.
Afterpay has recommended the transaction, with a current market value of $28 billion
Square says that the “acquisition aims to enable the companies to better deliver compelling financial products and services”.
“We built our business to make the financial system more fair, accessible, and inclusive, and Afterpay has built a trusted brand aligned with those principles,” said Jack Dorsey, Co-Founder and CEO of Square.
“Together, we can better connect our Cash App and Seller ecosystems to deliver even more compelling products and services for merchants and consumers, putting the power back in their hands.”
“Square and Afterpay have a shared purpose.”
Twitter and Square SEO Jack Dorsey
Square plans to integrate Afterpay into its existing Seller and Cash App business units
Square says the merge will “enable even the smallest of merchants to offer BNPL at checkout, give 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.”
“Buy now, pay later has been a powerful growth tool for sellers globally”
Alyssa Henry, Lead of Square’s Seller business.
“We are thrilled to not only add this product to our Seller ecosystem, but to do it with a trusted and innovative team,” said Henry.
“The addition of Afterpay to Cash App will strengthen our growing networks of consumers around the world, while supporting consumers with flexible, responsible payment options,” said Brian Grassadonia, Lead of Square’s Cash App business.
About the two companies
Afterpay says it serves over 16 million consumers and nearly 100,000 merchants globally.
As of June 30, 2021, Afterpay serves 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.
EU plans to make USB-C connectors the standard port for all smartphones and tablets, angering Apple
The European Commission rules to force manufacturers to create a universal charging solution for phones and small electronic devices. The European Commission is aiming to have a common charging port for all mobile phones, tablets, cameras, headphones, and handheld videogame consoles.
The ruling has been in the making for a decade, with environmental concerns the main driving force behind the historic move.
Reducing waste
The rule will reduce waste by encouraging consumers to re-use existing chargers when buying a new device. Politicians have been pushing for this uni9versal charging rule for over a decade.
Disposed and unused charging cables generate approximately 11,000 tonnes of waste per year. Research shows the average person owns around three mobile phone chargers.
A decade ago there were about 30 different types of chargers, now, phones use either USB-C, lightning, and USB micro-B.
Rotten Apple
The move would see all smartphones in the EU sold with the same charger, a motion Apple is not happy about. The tech giant says this move would damage ongoing innovation.
The tech giant is the main manufacturer of smartphones using a custom charging port, as its iPhone series uses an Apple-made “Lightning” connector. Apple argues its Lightning connector is used by one billion active iPhone users.
“We remain concerned that strict regulation mandating just one type of connector stifles innovation rather than encouraging it, which in turn will harm consumers in Europe and around the world,”
Apple spokesperson
The proposed changes would apply to the charging port on the device body and will also standardise charging speeds. It may be a number of years before the proposals come into effect.
It will be thoroughly debated by the European Parliament and national Governments.
There are growing concerns for European residents as energy prices continue to skyrocket in the lead-up to winter
The wholesale prices of natural gas in Britain, France, Spain, Germany and Italy have reached record highs, with overall household bills now through the roof.
This all comes as the continent braces for a cold winter and fuel is needed for increased electricity generation.
Meanwhile, the Europen Consumer Organisation warns it has seen a huge price increase… saying “It’s worrying ahead of the winter when gas consumption will necessarily increase.”
This latest price hike is being caused by a number of factors… including a depletion of natural gas stockpiles during a cold spring and a growing demand for gas in China.
Russia is also supplying less gas to the market than it ever has before.
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