Paypal is acquiring a browser extension company, Honey Science Corporation for $4 billion. This acquisition marks PayPal’s latest and biggest acquisition to date..
Details: According to TechCrunch, the Honey company is best known for providing a browser that helps consumers find deals while they shop online. Therefore, PayPal said it would use Honey’s technology to reach consumers as they begin their shopping journeys with personalized offers.
What this means: PayPal will not only be part of the shopping process but also the deal discovery process. It will no longer have to compete on the checkout page against credit cards or Apple Pay.
Speaking about the acquisition, Honey’s co-founder, Ryan Hudson stated that the acquisition would give the company the ability to work with millions of retailers to reach its members and provide offers to consumers.
The Senior Vice President of PayPal’s global consumer product and technology group, John Kunze said the acquisition would help Paypal expand its reach while adding new functions.
“What’s exciting is that we can take the functionality Honey now offers — which is product discovery, price tracking, offers and loyalty — and build that into the PayPal and Venmo experiences.
“When Honey says they’re putting money in the pockets of their customers — that’s perfectly in line with what we want to do. We want to make digital commerce and financial services more affordable, easier to use, more fun and more accessible to people around the world,” he said.
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What you should know: PayPal disclosed that Honey’s founders, Ryan Hudson and George Ruan would continue to lead the Honey team under PayPal’s global consumer product and technology group. However, they would be reporting to Kunze.
According to both companies, the deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020. Honey will retain its brand and Los Angeles headquarters following the acquisition, PayPal said.
About Honey Science Corp: Founded in 2012, Honey operates a browser extension tool that automatically searches for and applies coupon codes as consumers shop online. So far, Honey has raised $49 million from investors, including Ludlow Ventures, Zuma Partners, Mucker Capital, SXE Ventures, BAM Ventures, Plug and Play, Wonder Ventures, Cendana Capital, Anthos Capital and others.
