Square Effect: Why Afterpay Shares Are Tanking Today

Shares of Afterpay Ltd (OTC: AFTPY) (OTC: AFTPF) are dropping in Sydney after the company delayed a shareholder meeting to vote on a $29 billion deal with Square Inc (NYSE: SQ).

What’s Moving? Afterpay shares traded 5.65% lower at AUD 100.48 in Sydney at press time.

In an announcement, Afterpay said that the meeting scheduled for Dec. 6 will be delayed until the new year.

The Australian buy-now-pay-later firm said it was expecting approval from the Bank of Spain for the deal by mid-January.

The statutory deadline for Square’s application for approval from the Spanish regulator is Feb. 21. 

See Also: How To Buy Square (SQ) Shares

Why It Matters: The acquisition of Afterpay was expected to close in the first quarter of 2022.

On Wednesday, Square said it was changing its name to Block Inc. The company is renaming its cryptocurrency arm to Spiral.

Square is led by Jack Dorsey, who announced his resignation as Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR) CEO on Monday. Parag Agrawal was named as the new Twitter CEO immediately after Dorsey’s resignation.

Price Action: On Wednesday, Square shares closed 6.66% lower at $194.50 in the regular session. The shares rose nearly 0.4% in the after-hours session.

Afterpay (AFTPY) OTC shares closed 6.2% lower at $72.68 in the regular session. Afterpay (AFTPF) OTC shares closed 5.29% lower at $73.20.

Read Next: What's Up With Square's Stock Following Dorsey News?