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Big sale for iZettle

CMS DigitalBytes

18 May 2018

Some of you may have seen my post from a couple of weeks ago covering iZettle’s forthcoming float (http://cms.techbytes.law/post/102ev6q/izettles-float).

Well…..in an exciting twist of events iZettle has just announced that it is being sold to PayPal for $2.2bn – this is double the valuation the company was aiming for in its IPO, which was due to complete within the fortnight.

Whilst this is a great result for iZettle’s shareholders, many have expressed concern that this is another example of a European tech start-ip selling out before it had the chance to become a real world leader in its field. On the other hand, due to the premium that PayPal was willing to pay given the synergies they assume this acquisition will bring them, iZettle’s shareholders may have felt that $2.2bn, a serious amount of money, was too good an offer to turn down.

On a more personal note, as a professional advisor, two things strike me as fairly remarkable about this situation: firstly, iZettle’s corporate financers, lawyers and accountants would have been working on two complex transactions simultaneously, which would no doubt have been strenuous and involved much mutl-tasking and strategic thinking. Secondly, it is remarkable that news of the sale was not leaked prior to its announcement, especially considering the high-profile nature of the parties involved….

PayPal snaps up payments rival iZettle for $2.2bn

The content above was originally posted on CMS DigitalBytes - CMS lawyers sharing comment and commentary on all things tech.

Authors

Portrait ofElliot Cowan
Elliot Cowan
Partner
London