Updated

Stunning $39b Afterpay triumph

Jonathan Shapiro and James Eyers

Updated Aug 2, 2021 – 5.01pm, first published at 8.00am

Subscribe to gift this article

Gift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.

Already a subscriber?

Afterpay co-founder Nick Molnar says merging with Jack Dorsey’s Square will provide the scale and reach to allow Afterpay to take on the giants of the global payments industry, after he and co-founder Anthony Eisen snared the biggest M&A deal in Australia’s history.

Australia’s youngest ever billionaire said the $39 billion deal – which Afterpay’s board has recommended shareholders accept – will boost Afterpay’s growth in the United States, where it is facing tough competition from giant technology players, including PayPal and Apple.

Jonathan Shapiro writes about banking and finance, specialising in hedge funds, corporate debt, private equity and investment banking. He is based in Sydney.

James Eyers writes on banking, payments and fintech. He is a former legal and investment banking editor at the AFR, has degrees in commerce and law from UNSW, and is co-author of Buy now, pay later: The extraordinary story of Afterpay