PayPal Acquired Honey For $4 Billion, Biggest Tech Startup Deal in L.A.
When news broke last week that Honey was being acquired by Paypal for approximately $4 billion dollars, we were beyond excited for a number of reasons.
First, we love seeing L.A. based startups bloom into their full potential. The manner in which Honey persevered into success is no less than aspirational for us all.
Second, the Honey story is all about how a techy dad who was looking for a better way to find pizza coupons (something we can all relate to) solved this problem for us all. For that, we want to say THANK YOU!
Third, this news confirms the trend that deep-rooted shopping personalization is here to stay and payment companies want in on it. To fully help inform our readers on the acquisition, we’ve rounded up the best sources from across the web for you to sink your startup junky teeth into… keep reading for all the must-know-details!
What you need to know about Honey
If you aren’t already a Honey user, you’re missing out! They’ve helped its more than 17 million monthly active users save more than $1 billion over the last year alone. As we mentioned above, Honey is an L.A.-based tech company building tools to help people save time and money when shopping online. What started as a browser extension has grown into a suite of free tools that help everyone shop with confidence. From notifying you when a price drops to showing you the lowest prices available, Honey provides you with the information that you need to make the best decisions with your money. Get the full scoop on joinhoney.com. (Source: Honey)
What you need to know about PayPal
We’ve all probably used PayPal in some form of another or at least Venmo to pay our friends back for Sushi. What you might not know is that PayPal has transformed its presence over the years. Even though its name, branding and company structure have evolved, one thing remains true, it has revolutionized the way many websites process transactions and the way we personally send money to family and friends.
PayPal has remained at the forefront of the digital payment revolution for more than 20 years. By leveraging technology to make financial services and commerce more convenient, affordable, and secure, the PayPal platform is empowering 300 million consumers and merchants in more than 200 markets to join and thrive in the global economy.
Last week, PayPal held a world-wide open conference call to outline the transaction and provide key facts. We encourage you to check it out! l You can listen here, view the presentation here and read the official press release here. Hurry though, these links will expire in 90-days! (Source: PayPal)
Deal key facts
Honey HQ will stay in L.A.. (yay!)
Honey co-founders George Ruan and Ryan Hudson will continue to lead the Honey team as part of PayPal’s global consumer product and technology organization, reporting to PayPal.
Honey employees will join PayPal.
The expected close in Q1 2020.
This acquisition drives PayPayl’s mission of continuing to deliver products and services that transform the shopping experience.
(Source: PayPal)
The why behind the deal
The consumer checkout and payment space is getting more and more crowded by the day and every tech giant has entered the space…think Apple, Google, and Facebook. It is going to be a fight to the finish to see what payment service can stay as the top choice for consumers. PayPal SVP of Global Consumer Products and Technology, and former Xoom CEO, John Kunze, summed up his thoughts on this acquisition in a TechCrunch article:
“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 says. (Source: TechCrunch)
More, More, More …
If you’re still hungry for more on this acquisition we’ve rounded up a few more articles for you to peruse.
- In this 2017 Business Insider article, you can dive into the story behind Honey! This is personally are favorite because it gives you a rare look into the why behind the brand, the struggles, and the wins. Honey was created in 2012, fast forward seven years later and it’s being acquired for $4 billion dollars!
- If you’re looking for some experts to weigh in on the why behind the acquisition check out this article from Forbes. It dives deeper into the personalized shopping experience and possible data play.
- This article from Wired also offers an interesting perspective on why Honey is a win-win for the consumers that use it, its partner brands and now PayPal.
We’ll make sure to update you if and when more details arise about this acquisition!
Founder, Editor-In-Chief // A native Angeleno. John studied engineering at UCLA; founded Schmoozd, an offline social tech networking event in LA with 30,000 subs; ran a startup accelerator (StartEngine). Worked for several major brands like Toyota, DIRECTV, Hitachi, ICANN, and Raytheon. A mentor at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) Entrepreneur School, Dr. David Choi. And advises a dozen local LA startups building amazing tech in various industries; and invested in some. // Let's Connect: john@lastartups.com
