Afterpay delays vote on $29 bln buyout as Square awaits Spain's nod
Afterpay Ltd (APT.AX) will delay a
shareholder meet to approve Square Inc's (SQ.N) $29-billion buyout of the
Australian buy now, pay later leader, as the Jack Dorsey-led payment company
awaits regulatory nod in Spain.
The investor meet was set for Dec.
6, but Afterpay said it would likely take place next year as Square, which has
rebranded itself to Block Inc, is likely to get an approval from the Bank of
Spain only in mid-January.
The delay is unlikely to impact the
completion of Australia's biggest deal, which is set for the first quarter of
2022, Afterpay said.
"We continue to believe the
risks of the transaction closing are minimal," RBC Capital Markets analyst
Chami Ratnapala said in a brief client note.
Meanwhile, Twitter Inc (TWTR.N)
co-founder Dorsey is expected to focus on Square after stepping down as chief
executive of the social media platform as it looks to expand beyond its payment
business and into new technologies like blockchain.
Afterpay shares fell more than 6%,
far underperforming the broader Australian market (.AXJO), tracking Square's
6.6% drop overnight in U.S. market on worries over the Omicron variant.