The sharemarket might have ended February largely where it began, but beneath the hood, short sellers and asset allocators were scrambling to shift money.
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The early backers of Afterpay say Square’s blockbuster $39 billion offer makes strategic sense for both companies but warn integration risk will be a key factor to watch as the two payments systems are brought together.
The local market reacted positively to a Square earnings call and briefing on the Afterpay acquisition on Monday night, sending Afterpay up another 12 per cent on the ASX on Tuesday on the back of strong gains by Square in New York.
Afterpay’s Nick Molnar at Thread Togeather’s factory opening. Banksmeadow in February.
The surge in Square’s share price came after the company’s founder and chief executive, Jack Dorsey, told US investors the merger of Square and Afterpay would drive more e-commerce activity across both services, and in spite of criticism of the deal by popular CNBC cable business news pundit Jim Cramer.