SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov. 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- PayPal Holdings,
Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL) today announced that it has agreed to
acquire Honey Science Corporation, a rapidly-growing technology
platform for shopping and rewards, for approximately $4 billion. Honey, in combination with PayPal's
two-sided network, will transform the shopping experience for
PayPal's consumers while increasing sales and customer engagement
for its merchants.
Founded in 2012, Honey is best known as a popular discovery tool
that helps consumers find savings as they shop online. Honey has
continued to grow and evolve, expanding its suite of products and
services to include a mobile shopping assistant, offers and rewards
program, and price-tracking tools and alerts. With approximately 17
million monthly active users, Honey has helped millions of people
find more than $1 billion in savings
in the past year. Honey currently works across approximately 30,000
online retailers ranging from fashion and technology, to travel and
pizza delivery.
The acquisition supports PayPal and Honey's shared mission to
simplify and personalize shopping experiences for consumers while
driving conversion and increasing consumer engagement and sales for
merchants. The combination will help accelerate growth across both
companies. Honey will accelerate its growth by driving adoption
among PayPal and Venmo's more than 275 million active consumer
accounts and sourcing exclusive offers from PayPal's extensive
network of 24 million merchant accounts. Honey will enable PayPal
to reach consumers at the beginning of their shopping journeys and
will enhance PayPal's ability to help merchants acquire and convert
consumers by delivering offers that are personalized, timely, and
optimized across channels.
"Honey is amongst the most transformative acquisitions in
PayPal's history. It provides a broad portfolio of services to
simplify the consumer shopping experience, while at the same time
making it more affordable and rewarding," said Dan Schulman, president and CEO of PayPal. "The
combination of Honey's complementary consumer products with our
platform will significantly enhance our ability to drive engagement
and play a more meaningful role in the daily lives of our
consumers. As a partner of choice for our merchants, this is
another way that we can help them build and strengthen their
customer relationships, provide personalized offers, and drive
incremental sales. The combination of Honey and PayPal adds another
significant and meaningful dimension to our two-sided
platform."
Following the acquisition, Honey will retain its headquarters
and brand in Los Angeles,
California. Honey co-founders George
Ruan and Ryan Hudson will
continue to lead the Honey team as part of PayPal's global consumer
product and technology organization, reporting to Senior Vice
President John Kunze.
"Honey's vision has always been to give consumers the tools they
need to make the best decisions with their money," said Ruan.
"PayPal shares that vision and together we can build powerful
commerce capabilities that create real value for both consumers and
retailers around the world."
"Combining PayPal's assets and reach with our technology, we can
build powerful new online shopping experiences for consumers and
merchants," said Hudson. "We'll have the ability to help millions
of retailers efficiently reach consumers with offers that deliver
more and more value to Honey members."
Honey was profitable on a net income basis in 2018. Subject to
customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory
approvals, the transaction is expected to close in the first
quarter of 2020. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to
PayPal's non-GAAP earnings per share in 2021.
Perella Weinberg Partners LP is acting as sole financial adviser
to PayPal, and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is
acting as its legal adviser with regard to the transaction.
Qatalyst Partners is acting as sole financial adviser to Honey,
while Latham & Watkins, LLP is acting as its legal adviser.
Webcast and Conference Call Information
PayPal will
host a conference call to discuss the transaction at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time (PST) today. A
live webcast of the conference call, together with a slide
presentation, can be accessed through the company's investor
relations website at https://investor.paypal-corp.com. In addition,
an archive of the webcast will be accessible for 90 days through
the same link.
About PayPal
PayPal has remained at the forefront of
the digital payment revolution for more than 20 years. By
leveraging technology to make financial services and commerce more
convenient, affordable, and secure, the PayPal platform is
empowering 300 million consumers and merchants in more than 200
markets to join and thrive in the global economy. For more
information, visit paypal.com.
About Honey
Honey Science Corporation is an L.A.-based
tech company building tools to help people save time and money when
shopping online. What started as a browser extension has grown into
a suite of free tools that help everyone shop with confidence. From
notifying you when a price drops, to showing you the lowest prices
available, Honey provides you with the information that you need to
make the best decisions with your money. With approximately 17
million monthly active users, Honey has helped millions of people
find more than $1 billion in savings
in the past year. Visit www.joinhoney.com to shop smarter.
Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains
"forward-looking" statements within the meaning of applicable
securities laws. Forward-looking statements and information relate
to future events and future performance and reflect PayPal's
expectations regarding the impact of this transaction on PayPal's
and Honey's financial and operating results and business, the
operation and management of Honey after the acquisition, and the
timing of the closing of the acquisition. Forward-looking
statements may be identified by words such as "seek", "believe",
"plan", "estimate", "anticipate", expect", "project, "forecast", or
"intend", and statements that an event or result "may", "will",
"should", "could", or "might" occur or be achieved and any other
similar expressions.
Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties which
may cause actual results to differ materially from the statements
made, and, accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements and information. Factors that could
cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not
limited to, the timing and possible outcome of security holder and
regulatory approvals in connection with the transaction, the
possibility that the transaction may not close, the reaction to the
transaction of Honey's customers and business partners, the
reaction of competitors to the transaction, the retention of
Honey's employees, PayPal's plans for Honey, economic and political
conditions in the global markets in which PayPal and Honey operate,
the future growth of PayPal's and Honey's businesses and the
possibility that integration following the transaction may be more
difficult than expected.
More information about these and other factors that could
adversely affect PayPal's results of operations, financial
condition and prospects or that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those expressed or implied in
forward-looking statements can be found in PayPal Holdings, Inc.'s
most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form
10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and other filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), and its future
filings with the SEC.
The forward-looking statements contained in this announcement
speak only as of the date hereof. PayPal expressly disclaims
any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or
revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to
reflect any change in the expectations with regard thereto or any
change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such
statement is based.
Contacts
Investor Relations
Contacts
Gabrielle Rabinovitch
grabinovitch@paypal.com
Akila Moorthy
amoorthy@paypal.com
Media Relations Contact
Josh
Criscoe
jcriscoe@paypal.com
646.667.5065
Amanda Coffee
acoffee@paypal.com
408.221.1984
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SOURCE PayPal, Inc.