移動支付初創公司Square市值翻番
????經過連續數月的融資,增長最快的移動支付初創公司Square周一宣布,公司新一輪融資超過了2億美元。據交易知情人士透露,投資方估算公司市值約為32.5億美元。2011年,公司曾經融資1億美元,與當時相比,公司如今的市值大約翻了一番。 ????此外,Square公司還表示,目前公司處理的支付交易量達到每年80億美元,高于去年十月的20億美元。Square公司的移動支付技術可以讓消費者輕松免掉攜帶現金的麻煩。今年春天,公司就開始了新一輪融資。知情人士透露,當時,公司高管原本希望借Facebook成功IPO的東風,降低融資的難度,同時獲得更高的估值。結果Facebook的IPO慘淡收場,許多科技投資者變得更加小心翼翼。目前,外界并不確定這種情緒對Square的融資是否產生過影響。 ????此次獲得的投資可以幫助Square抵御來自對手的殘酷競爭。科技巨頭谷歌(Google)與PayPal、金融業公司惠爾豐(VeriFone)和NCR公司,以及大批零售商、移動運營商等,都希望能在規模雖小但增長迅猛的移動支付市場分一杯羹。 ????Square公司的投資者包括花旗集團(Citigroup )旗下的風投公司Citi Ventures、小型私募股權公司Rizvi Traverse Management和星巴克咖啡(Starbucks Coffee)。八月,Square宣布星巴克對其注資,當時,這兩家公司公布了一項交易——美國的星巴克咖啡店將使用Square處理信用卡交易。《紐約時報》(The New York Times)7月時曾報道稱,小型私募股權公司Rizvi也可能對Square進行了投資。 ????翻譯:劉進龍/汪皓 |
????After a fundraising process that lasted several months, Square, the fast growing mobile payments startup, said on Monday that it has raised more than $200 million in a new round of financing. The investment values the company at approximately $3.25 billion, according to a person with knowledge of the transaction, or roughly double its valuation following a $100 million financing round in the summer of 2011. ????Square also said that it is now processing payments at a rate of $8 billion annually, up from about $2 billion last October. Square, whose mobile payment technologies are making it ever easier for consumers to do away with cash, began its fundraising effort this spring. People close the company said its executives were hoping that a successful IPO from Facebook (FB) might help Square raise cash more easily and at a high valuation. But after the Facebook IPO turned into a fiasco, many technology investors became more skittish. It is not clear if that sentiment affected Square's fundraising process. ????The additional cash will help Square to fend off stiff competition from tech giants like Google (GOOG) and PayPal, financial industry firms like VeriFone (PAY) and NCR (NCR), and a slew of retailers, mobile carriers and others who vying for a piece of the small, but fast growing, mobile payments market. ????Square's investors include Citi Ventures, the venture capital arm of Citigroup (C), Rizvi Traverse Management, and Starbucks Coffee (SBUX). Square announced the Starbucks investment in August, when the two companies unveiled a deal under which Square will process credit cards payments at the coffee chain's stores in the United States. A likely investment from Rizvi, a small private equity firm, was reported in July by The New York Times. |