PayPal acquires iZettle

PayPal has announced that it is to buy iZettle, the small business commerce platform in Europe and Latin America, for 2.2 billion US dollars, as it looks to expand its in-store presence and strength its ominichannel platform to help small businesses around the world.

The deal will see PayPal gaining in-store capabilities in 11 markets, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden, while also gaining near-term in-store expansion opportunities into other existing PayPal markets, and acceleration of omnichannel commerce solutions in the UK, Australia, and US, the company stated.

The acquisition will also provide PayPal with a scalable platform for rapid geographic expansion, while advancing its mission to help small businesses grow and thrive in the global digital economy.

“Small businesses are the engine of the global economy and we are continuing to expand our platform to help them compete and win online, in-store and via mobile,” said PayPal president and chief executive Dan Schulman in a press release. “iZettle and PayPal are a strategic fit, with a shared mission, values and culture—and complementary product offerings and geographies. In today's digital world, consumers want to be able to buy when, where and how they want.”

Schulman added: “With nearly half a million merchants on their platform, Jacob de Geer and his team add best-in-class capabilities and talent that will expand PayPal’s market opportunity to be a global one-stop solution for omnichannel commerce.”

Once the acquisition closes, Jacob de Geer will continue to lead iZettle, which will operate as an integral part of PayPal’s merchant services offering, reporting to PayPal’s chief operating officer Bill Ready.

In addition, iZettle’s management team, who PayPal states have “a demonstrated track record of scaling at pace”, will continue running the business, ensuring continuity for customers, employees and partners. Upon closing, iZettle will become the European centre of excellence for PayPal’s in-store product and services offerings.

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018.