Afterpay, BNPL shares continue to tumble

The Australian buy now, pay later sector continues to fall, with a crucial Afterpay shareholder vote delayed.

Afterpay shares continued to slide on Monday. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Nikki Short

Shares in buy now, pay later outfit Afterpay plunged again on Monday after the company set a ­revised date for a shareholder meeting to approve its mooted $39bn merger with Jack Dorsey’s payments giant Square, which is soon to be renamed Block.

Afterpay has been forced to delay its vote to approve the deal to 9am AEDT on Tuesday, ­December 14, two weeks later than first scheduled, due a delay in regulatory approvals from the Bank of Spain.

A meeting was held on Monday morning and was promptly adjourned, as the company had foreshadowed last week.

“Good morning everyone. My name is Elana Rubin. I am the chair of Afterpay Limited. As announced on Thursday, December 2, 2021, Afterpay intends to open this scheme meeting and ­immediately adjourn it,” Ms Rubin said on Monday.

“As such, I proceed to now open and adjourn this scheme meeting to 9am AEDT on Tuesday, December 14, 2021, and I look forward to your attendance at the adjourned meeting.”

Shares in Afterpay fell 4.3 per cent, closing at $94, well below Square’s agreed takeover price of $124.

Afterpay’s directors on Monday said they still “continue to unanimously recommend that Afterpay shareholders vote in favour of the scheme”, in the ­absence of a superior proposal, and will soon approach the NSW Supreme Court for orders relating to the merger. The company’s directors said they were still aiming for the deal, which would be the largest in Australian corporate history, to go ahead in the first quarter of 2022.

Anthony Eisen, co-founder and co-CEO of Afterpay. Picture: Damian Bennett

The shareholder vote delay came last week after Afterpay said the Bank of Spain had yet to give the tie-up a regulatory tick. The bank regulates Afterpay‘s European subsidiary, Pagantis, which gives it the regulatory ­licences required to operate across the European Union.

Shares in Afterpay have tumbled in the past month, falling by more than 20 per cent. Last week the company traded below $100 for the first time in nearly six months, and for the first time since its merger with Square was announced.

The company has followed its prospective US parent Square downward, with shares in Square dropping by 20 per cent in the past month. It has led to pain for the entire Australian buy now, pay later sector, with shares in Zip and Sezzle also suffering significant drops on Monday.