PayPal has announced to acquire Honey Science Corporation, the makers of a deal-finding browser add-on and mobile application, for $4 billion, mostly cash. The acquisition, which is PayPal’s largest to date, will give the payments giant a foothold earlier in the customer’s shopping journey. PayPal wants to add Honey’s technology to its own product line, expanding its reach to PayPal’s 300 million users. Along with this, PayPal’s network of 24 million merchant partners will gain the ability to offer targeted and more personalized promotions to consumers as a means of acquiring new business and driving increased sales. PayPal Credit may also be integrated into Honey to help finance larger purchases.
The acquisition also paves a way for PayPal to fight back against the increased competition from Apple, Google, Facebook and other tech companies that have entered the payments market in recent years.
