Square acquires website maker Weebly for $365 million

The small payments company Square Inc. (SQ), developed by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, has been aggressively diversifying itself into new business verticals via acquisitions. Noted as one of the major players in fintech space, Square now strengthens its online push by investing $365 million in Weebly, a website creating platform.

The San Francisco, California-based company has been on an acquisition spree. Few days ago, Square acquired San Franciso-based food delivery startup Zesty that serves the needs of corporates. The company aims at boosting its delivery business Caviar with Zesty.

Square, which competes with PayPal in e-commerce purchases, is expanding its presence in other areas. With the purchase of Weebly that was founded in 2007, Square aims at expanding its customer base and offer a single solution for businesses that are looking to have both online and offline stores.

The cash-and- stock deal is expected to close during the next quarter of this year. This deal will help Square increase its footprint globally as Weebly’s paid subscribers, around 40%, are located in other countries. This will also help Square generate revenue from a new channel.

During the fourth quarter of 2017, the company reported 36% growth in revenue. Square boasts of having nearly 7 million monthly active customers. The company’s transaction-based and subscription-based revenue jumped 30% and 96%, respectively. For the first quarter, the company expects revenue to range between $605 million and $620 million. Square is set to report its earnings results on May 2.