Zip Co founder Larry Diamond quits company to set up a family office

Zip Co founder Larry Diamond has quit the buy now, pay later company after its stock surged eightfold in a year. He says he’ll focus on his family office and philanthropic endeavours.

Zip Co co-founder Larry Diamond. Picture: Supplied

Co-founder of buy now, pay later company Zip Co, Larry Diamond, has quit the company as a director and US chairman following the company’s stock piling on huge gains over the past year.

More than 46 million Zip shares were traded on Tuesday, with rumours – at this stage unconfirmed by the company – that Mr Diamond sold 30 million of his 55 million shares, which would have netted him about $100m at yesterday’s share price of $3.38.

The company said in a statement: “Zip will be making the necessary filings on the ASX in due course to reflect Mr ­Diamond’s final interests as a ­director”.

The current share price is a far cry from where the stock was trading this time last year, when Zip Co shares were changing hands for just 40c.

Mr Diamond recently acquired another 164,263 shares in Zip under the company’s short term incentive plan, bringing his total at the end of October to 55.1 million.

A notice lodged with the ASX at the time indicates he also is eligible for 1.1 million performance rights vesting out to September 2029, for no consideration.

Zip said in a statement on Tuesday that Mr Diamond “will step down as a director of Zip and as US chairman from today, to establish a family office and foundation to further his philanthropic endeavours’’. “He will continue his deep commitment to Zip by remaining available to the company as an adviser on strategic initiatives going forward.’’

Chair Diane Smith-Gander said the board respected Mr Diamond’s decision to leave and “express our appreciation of his extraordinary achievement, having co-founded Zip with Peter Gray in Australia in 2013’’.

“We acknowledge that there is a changing of the guard across the tech sector as companies have matured, and their founders are now in a position to realise their next stage of contribution to their domestic and international communities, in Larry’s case through his new family office and foundation,” she said.

Mr Diamond said in the statement it was the right time for him to leave.

“I’m very proud of what Zip has achieved and have total confidence in the team that will be leading the company to continued great success,’’ he said.

“I remain a committed shareholder and supporter of Zip and the team.”

Zip reported a 28 per cent surge in revenue in the past financial year to $868m, with transaction volumes up 14 per cent to $10.1bn and EBTDA of $69m, up 243.2 per cent. Exceptional items were to blame for the company’s annual loss of $449,000.

Managing director Cynthia Scott recently told the company’s annual general meeting that first quarter earnings for the current financial year were up 233.7 per cent on the previous corresponding ­period.