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Australian buy now, pay later outfit Zip is to acquire US rival Zezzle for A$491 million.
In line with the agreement, Zip is also seeking to raises $50 million in a share placement to “strengthen its balance sheet and position Zip for sustainable growth by providing more capital runway to execute on the potential synergies from the proposed transaction”.
The combination of Zip and Sezzle is expected to result in pro forma 8.8 million customers and pro forma 60.5k merchants in the US.
Zip is targeting cost savings of A$60-80 million from the transaction from operating expenses and net margin opportunities. The company says it intends on retaining a significant footprint in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where Sezzle is headquartered in the US.
Zip has made a host of deals in recent months as it looks to scale and compete with the likes of Klarna and Afterpay in the thriving BNPL market.
In September it agreed to buy South Africa’s Payflex and invest in India’s ZestMoney, following up the May acquisitions of European provider Twisto and UAE-based Spotii, giving the Australian vendor an on-the-ground presence in a host of new markets.
Financial Services
