Afterpay Acquisition, Valuation, Funding & Investors

Afterpay was acquired by Block for $28B in August 2021, a 42.2x multiple on $675M of revenue.

Afterpay acquisition price

$28B

Acquired by Block · Aug 2021

Afterpay revenue at acquisition

$675M

Last twelve months · Aug 2021

Afterpay revenue multiple at acquisition

42.2x

EV/Revenue · Aug 2021

Cumulative funding Afterpay raised

$135M

across 1 funding round

Afterpay Overview

About Afterpay

Afterpay is a buy now, pay later service enabling shoppers to split purchases into four interest-free installments over six weeks. Sydney-headquartered since its 2014 founding, the platform integrates with merchants in Australia, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Europe for immediate order fulfillment. Afterpay processes transactions via its app and website, emphasizing on-time payments to avoid late fees.


Founded

2014

HQ

AustraliaMelbourne

Status

Acquired

Customer focus

B2B & B2C

Revenue model

Commission

Revenue

$675M (Aug 2021)

Valuation

$28B (acquired Aug 2021)

Afterpay Acquisition

Afterpay was acquired by Block for $28B on 1 August 2021.

The acquisition price implies a 42.2x revenue multiple on $675M of revenue.

Before the acquisition Afterpay had raised $135M across 1 funding round.

In February 2022, Block (formerly Square) completed a massive $29 billion all-stock acquisition of Australian buy now, pay later (BNPL) pioneer Afterpay. This strategic union connects Afterpay's installment platform with Block's dual ecosystems: Cash App for consumers and Square for merchants. The acquisition aimed to connect shoppers using Cash App directly with merchants utilizing Square, embedding installment payment options natively into both digital and physical checkouts.

Afterpay acquisition details
AcquirerDateTypePriceEV/RevenueEV/EBITDA
1 Aug 2021Strategic M&A$28B42.2x1007.8x

Sources: sec.gov, startupdaily.net

Afterpay Funding History

Afterpay has raised a total of $135M across 1 funding round, plus 1 secondary share sale.

Afterpay funding rounds

Afterpay funding rounds
DateStageInvestorsRaisedDeal Summary
May 2020SecondaryTencent (lead)$300MTencent Holdings disclosed on 1 May 2020, through a substantial shareholder notice filed with the ASX, that it had acquired a 5% stake in Afterpay for about US$300 million (roughly A$390 million), buying shares on market from late March through April 2020 when Afterpay's share price had collapsed during the initial COVID-19 sell-off to as low as A$8.90. The announcement sent Afterpay shares up 24% on the day to A$36.10, valuing the company at around A$10 billion. Tencent's chief strategy officer James Mitchell said Afterpay's interest-free instalment model and integrated retail presence stood out among fintech businesses, and the two companies described a strategic relationship giving Afterpay access to Tencent's expertise in payments and platforms, including WeChat Pay, and potential collaboration in Asian markets. Afterpay, founded in Melbourne in 2014 and listed on the ASX since 2016, was at the time the leading buy-now-pay-later provider in Australia with more than 8 million active customers and about 48,000 merchants across Australia, New Zealand, the United States and the United Kingdom. The stake made Tencent one of Afterpay's largest shareholders ahead of Block's US$29 billion acquisition of the company agreed in August 2021.
Nov 2019Undisclosed stageCoatue (lead)$135MAfterpay Touch Group announced on 13 November 2019 a A$200 million private placement to the US technology investor Coatue Management, issuing 7 million new fully paid ordinary shares at A$28.50 per share, a 2.4% discount to the last close and a 3.8% premium to the five-day volume-weighted average price. Coatue, already a shareholder, became the company's largest institutional investor after the raising and agreed to a twelve-month escrow on the new shares, reflecting the strategic nature of the investment; the two sides also agreed that Coatue would support Afterpay's development of retail data analytics and future data-driven products. The proceeds were earmarked for expanding Afterpay's global platform, particularly in the United States and the United Kingdom. In the business update released alongside the placement, Afterpay reported more than 6 million active customers and about 40,000 merchants, around 15,000 new customers a day, underlying sales of A$2.7 billion in the four months to October 2019, up 110% year on year, and annualised underlying sales above A$8.5 billion. Afterpay was founded in Melbourne in 2014, merged with Touchcorp in 2017 to form Afterpay Touch and was listed on the ASX; it was acquired by Block in an all-stock deal valued at about US$29 billion in 2021-2022.

Who has invested in Afterpay?

2 investors have backed Afterpay across its funding rounds, including Tencent and Coatue.

Lead investors include Tencent and Coatue.


Afterpay Investors

Investors in Afterpay by funding rounds participated
InvestorHQRoundsRoleFirst check

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Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples

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Acquisitions by Afterpay

Afterpay has acquired 3 companies to date.

Last acquisition by Afterpay was on August 27th 2020. Afterpay acquired EMPAT KALI INDONESIA for $2M.


Latest Acquisitions by Afterpay

EMPAT KALI INDONESIA
ClearPay
Touchcorp
Description
EMPATKALI Indonesia is a Jakarta-based fintech offering interest-free installment payments for online and offline purchases. Consumers split transactions into four equal payments over time at partnered merchants, facilitating access to goods without credit checks. The platform processes payments via bank transfers and e-wallets, serving retail sectors across Indonesia with integrations for major shopping platforms.
ClearPay is a UK-based buy now pay later service enabling consumers to split purchases up to £500 into four interest-free payments over six weeks. Shoppers select ClearPay at checkout from partnered retailers like ASOS and Nasty Gal, with instant approval via debit or credit card for new users. Existing customers manage plans through a mobile app. Acquired by Afterpay in 2019 and now part of Block Inc., it operates across the UK and Australia with millions of users and thousands of merchant partners via clearpay.co.uk.
Touchcorp is a Melbourne-headquartered payment gateway specializing in omnichannel solutions for retail and hospitality. Founded in 2001, it processes over AUD 10 billion in transactions yearly across Australia and New Zealand, supporting EMV, NFC, and tokenization for in-store, online, and app payments. Touchcorp integrates with Square, Tyro, and NAB, serving 20,000 merchants like McDonald's and Woolworths with fraud detection via machine learning.
HQ CountryIndonesiaUnited KingdomAustralia
HQ City
Jakarta
Manchester
Melbourne
Deal Date27 Aug 202023 Aug 201823 Feb 2017
Valuation$2M$15M$325M
EV/Revenue
EV/EBITDA

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Investments by Afterpay

Afterpay has invested in 1 company to date.

Latest investment by Afterpay was on June 28th 2021. Afterpay invested in Postpay in their $10M Series A round.


Latest Investments by Afterpay

Postpay
Description
Postpay is a Dubai-based buy-now-pay-later provider founded in 2019. It enables three interest-free installment payments at checkout for purchases across partner merchants in UAE and GCC. Postpay integrates with e-commerce sites like Namshi and Sivvi, handling credit checks via mobile app. The service promotes flexible shopping without late fees for on-time payments.
HQ CountryUnited Arab Emirates
HQ City
Dubai
Deal Date28 Jun 2021
RoundSeries A
Raised$10M
InvestorsTouch Ventures
Valuationundisclosed
EV/Revenue
EV/EBITDA

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Afterpay Competitors

Afterpay competitors include listed companies like Affirm, Block and PayPal, and private ones like Octane, Caribou and JD Digits.

Public and private companies comparable to Afterpay
CompanyHQStatusRevenueEBITDAValuationRevenue Multiple
OctaneUnited StatesNew York City, NYPrivate$400M$80M$1.3B-
CaribouUnited StatesDenver, COPrivate$11M-$1.1B100.0x
JD DigitsChinaBeijingPrivate--$28B-
AffirmUnited StatesUnited StatesPublicly listed$4.3B$1.3B$23B6.7x
BlockUnited StatesUnited StatesPublicly listed$24B$2.2B$45B1.6x
PayPalUnited StatesUnited StatesPublicly listed$33B$7.2B$45B1.4x

Afterpay Public Comps

Afterpay is no longer listed, but its public comps include Affirm, Kaspi.kz, Tata Capital, Mitsubishi HC Capital, Block, PayPal, Muthoot Finance, Aditya Birla Capital, Chailease Holding and Credit Acceptance.

Last FYEV/RevenueEV/EBITDA
RevenueEBITDALast FYLTM2027ELast FYLTM2027E
Affirm$4.3B$1.3B7.1x6.7x24.3x22.7x
Kaspi.kz$9B$3.1B2.0x1.9x5.7x5.2x
Tata Capital$3.1B$761M12.3x20.9x50.2x-
Mitsubishi HC Capital$14B$4.1B5.0x5.0x17.2x20.8x
Block$24B$2.2B1.6x1.6x18.2x9.1x
PayPal$33B$7.2B1.4x1.4x6.6x6.8x
Muthoot Finance$2.1B$1.4B12.5x13.6x19.4x18.7x
Aditya Birla Capital$4.8B$1.8B6.3x30.1x16.7x41.0x

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Common questions about Afterpay

When was Afterpay founded?Afterpay was founded in 2014.
Where is Afterpay headquartered?Afterpay is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia.
Is Afterpay publicly listed?No, Afterpay was acquired by Block in August 2021.
Who acquired Afterpay?Afterpay was acquired by Block in August 2021.
How much was Afterpay acquired for?Afterpay was acquired for $28B in August 2021, a 42.2x revenue multiple.
How much funding has Afterpay raised?Afterpay has raised $135M across 1 funding round.
What was Afterpay's last funding round?Afterpay's last funding round was a $135M undisclosed-stage round in November 2019, led by Coatue.
Who are Afterpay's investors?Afterpay's investors include Tencent and Coatue.
Which companies are comparable to Afterpay?Companies comparable to Afterpay include Octane, Caribou, JD Digits, Affirm, Block and PayPal.
How many companies has Afterpay acquired?Afterpay has acquired 3 companies, including EMPAT KALI INDONESIA, ClearPay and Touchcorp.
What was the largest acquisition by Afterpay?The $325M acquisition of Touchcorp in February 2017 is the largest acquisition Afterpay has made to date.
How many companies has Afterpay invested in?Afterpay has invested in 1 company, including Postpay.
What was Afterpay's last investment?In June 2021, Afterpay invested in Postpay's $10M Series A alongside Touch Ventures.

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