(Reuters) Payments giant PayPal Holdings Inc. is seeking to acquire Paidy, a Japanese buy now, pay later firm for $2.7 billion. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
The largely cash deal is a step by PayPal to earn a stake in the booming BNPL sector, one month after rival Square Inc. acquired Australia’s Afterpay for $29 billion. The US payments giant is already a market leader in BNPL, having entered Australia last year.
The acquisition of Paidy is expected to expand PayPal in the domestic payments market in Japan, which currently ranks as the third largest e-commerce market globally.
PayPal will benefit from Japan’s online shopping, which has more than tripled in the last decade to about $200 billion, although two thirds of purchases are on cash basis.
Paidy, which has at least 6 million registered users, will continue to operate as an existing business and maintain its brand after acquisition by PayPal.
PYPL: NASDAQ is down -0.089% on premarket.
