NewsBite

Sezzle

April

Orso Partners’ Nathan Koppikar speaking at Sohn in New York.

Why this US short seller is spooked by Australia

US-based Australian manager Nathan Koppikar says the ASX is too dominated by super funds and investor cliques – and other hedge funds agree.

  • Matthew Cranston

February 2023

Customers are told to keep paying their debts as Openpay shuts down.

Receivers call time as Openpay closes

Openpay is the first buy now, pay later operator to fall victim to higher funding costs after receivers McGrathNicol were called in to close it down.

  • Updated
  • Ayesha de Kretser

January 2023

Myer chief executive John King has delivered another strong result.

Myer, Block and the market’s big punt on consumers

Myer is part of a group of small caps whose share price is on the rise, as the ASX turns optimistic about retail and the consumer outlook.

  • James Thomson

August 2022

Sezzle boss Charlie Youakim and CFO Karen Hartje.

Sezzle surges, Zip follows, but then both rallies run out of puff

Sezzle said it could become profitable by the end of the year, sending its shares up 12 per cent.

  • James Eyers
Shares in nondescript movie theatre operator AMC Entertainment soared more than 1200 per cent last year at the height of its popularity as a meme stock.

How a quant may have unleashed the revenge of the meme stocks

“Let ’em come,” Cliff Asness told meme traders after revealing he was shorting their favourite stock, AMC. And come they did.

  • Jonathan Shapiro
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July 2022

Sezzle boss Charlie Youakim and CFO Karen Hartje.

Sezzle better off without Zip, profit in sight, says CEO

Charlie Youakim believes the company could turn profitable by year-end but concedes M&A activity is still a valid way forward for stricken buy now, pay later operators.

  • Tom Richardson
Sezzle chief executive Charlie Youakim. Its shares nearly doubled on Wednesday before being put in a trading halt.

Inflation report boosts shares, Zip, Sezzle rocket

Shares got a boost from June quarter inflation data over a day that saw Sezzle lead the buy now, pay later juniors in a stunning rebound.

  • Tom Richardson
Zip Co co-founder and chief executive Larry Diamond: “We’re not concerned about these guys. They’ve been innovating through bureaucracy, innovating through imitation. We’re not concerned,” he said.

Zip CEO says rivals are ‘innovating through imitation’

Zip Co co-founder Larry Diamond is not afraid of tech giants Apple and PayPal and the big banks. “We’re not concerned about these guys. They’ve been innovating through bureaucracy, innovating through imitation.”

  • Ayesha de Kretser
Zip Co co-founder and chief executive Larry Diamond.

Zip shuts Singapore, scraps business products to get to profit

The buy now, pay later company is getting out of overseas markets as it desperately tries to move itself into the black before it runs out of cash.

  • Updated
  • Ayesha de Kretser

Sezzle’s secret to success: suing GameStop

Sezzle is turning to legal arbitrage to deliver for shareholders.

  • Michael Roddan
Sezzle’s Charlie Youakim and Zip co-founder Larry Diamond.

Zip, Sezzle and the elephants in the room

The market is abuzz over why Zip decided to scrap its Sezzle merger just three weeks after stating that it remained on track.

  • Tom Richardson
Sezzle’s Charlie Youakim and Zip co-founder Larry Diamond.

Zip earns reprieve as deal with Sezzle comes apart at the seams

Zip shares soared after it called off a deal with struggling US-focused Sezzle, but concerns remain for the buy now, pay later minnows as consolidation stalls.

  • Updated
  • Ayesha de Kretser
Zip co-founder Larry Diamond; Sezzle’s Charlie Youakim and Klarna’s Sebastian Siemiatkowski.

The buy now, pay later party is officially over

The staggering fall in Klarna’s valuation and the collapse of the Zip-Sezzle merger exposes a sector still hunting for a profitable, sustainable business model.

  • Updated
  • James Thomson
Zip Co was founded by Larry Diamond (pictured) and Peter Gray in 2013.

Bad debts exposed with Zip down 5.2pc

UBS takes the knife to Zip saying credit quality is deteriorating as it chases growth.

  • Updated
  • Ayesha de Kretser

June 2022

Sezzle boss Charlie Youakim rings the bell with CFO Karen Hartje on its 2019 initial public offer priced at a $1.22 per share.

Sezzle chief’s $800 million fortune erased

What a difference a year makes. Charlie Youakim’s paper fortune has collapsed as Sezzle races to secure a Zip Co merger.

  • Tom Richardson
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Opportunities as investors sell stocks for tax losses before June 30

Fund managers say there could be bargains for those who are willing and able to scout for small parcels of typically small-cap stocks.

  • Stewart Oldfield

May 2022

Robb Elementary School after a mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, May 25

Buy now, pay later dragged into Uvalde shooting controversy

A BNPL provider worked with Daniel Defense, the company that sold the gun used in the Uvalde shooting, as the sector faces more regulatory pressure.

  • Updated
  • Tom Richardson
Andrew Brown of East 72 says Zip Co should scrap its offer to acquire Sezzle.

‘Walk away’: fund manager lashes Zip’s bid for Sezzle

The problem for both companies is that the bad debt situation is just horrific, says Andrew Brown of hedge fund East 72.

  • Tom Richardson

March 2022

The fastest bear market in history emerged in March when the pandemic sent cities around the globe into lockdown.

Zip, Sezzle smashed by confidence crisis

Affirm had to halt a debt offering on Friday in a move blamed on rate market volatility, as confidence sinks in buy now, pay later in a rising rate environment.

  • Tom Richardson
Zip co-founders Peter Gray and Larry Diamond finalised a deal to buy Sezzle.

Analysts run the ruler over Zip and Sezzle

Now that the Zip and Sezzle tie-up is official, analysts in the buy now, pay later sector have crunched the numbers, and are yet to be convinced of its merits.

  • Jonathan Shapiro

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/company/szl-jto