Square's acquisition of Australia's buy now, pay later platform is now a step closer to realisation after the US company gained shareholder approval to issue new shares as prescribed by the scheme implementation deed inked by the pair in August.
In an ASX listing on Thursday morning, Afterpay confirmed that the first court hearing will be held later today, with the scheme booklet expected to be released on 5 November subject to court approval and following registration with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
Afterpay expects the transaction will close in the first quarter of 2022.
In August, Square and the 2015-founded buy now, pay later service confirmed they had entered into a scheme implementation deed that would see Square acquire all of the issued shares in Afterpay.
The “acquisition aims to enable the companies to better deliver compelling financial products and services that expand access to more consumers and drive incremental revenue for merchants of all sizes”.
“Square and Afterpay have a shared purpose. 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,” Mr Dorsey said at the time.
“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.”
Maja Garaca Djurdjevic
Maja's career in journalism spans well over a decade across finance, business and politics. Now an experienced editor and reporter across all elements of the financial services sector, prior to joining Momentum Media, Maja reported for several established news outlets in Southeast Europe, scrutinising key processes in post-conflict societies.
