Afterpay increases US stake as global sales surge

Afterpay will spend $373 million on increasing its ownership of its critical United States business, the company said on Thursday as it reported a doubling in underlying sales.

Global underlying sales on the buy now, pay later platform soared 106 per cent to $9.8 billion in the six months to December, the Melbourne-based company said in its half-year results announcement on Thursday morning. Its number of active customers jumped 80 per cent to 13.1 million during that time, with US customer numbers growing at 127 per cent to 8 million.

Afterpay’s shares went into a trading halt as the company announced a deal to raise $1.25 billion in convertible notes and increase its ownership of Afterpay US.

The company said the deal would see Matrix Partners X and other part-owners of its US business sell down their equity interests in Afterpay US, so that Afterpay’s underlying interest in the business rose from 80 per cent to 93 per cent.

More to come.