PayPal in $4 billion acquisition

PayPal Holdings has made its largest acquisition to date.

The payments giant has agreed to acquire Honey Science Corporation, the makers of a fast-growing technology platform that helps consumers find savings as they shop online, for approximately $4 billion. The acquisition will give PayPal earlier involvement in a customer’s shopping journey.

As Honey has grown, it has expanded its offerings to include a mobile shopping assistant, offers and rewards program, and price-tracking tools and alerts. With approximately 17 million monthly active users, the company said it currently works across approximately 30,000 online retailers ranging from fashion and technology, to travel and pizza delivery.

“Honey is amongst the most transformative acquisitions in PayPal's history,” said Dan Schulman, president and CEO of PayPal. “It provides a broad portfolio of services to simplify the consumer shopping experience, while at the same time making it more affordable and rewarding. The combination of Honey's complementary consumer products with our platform will significantly enhance our ability to drive engagement and play a more meaningful role in the daily lives of our consumers.”

Following the acquisition, Honey will retain its headquarters in Los Angeles. 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. 

"Combining PayPal's assets and reach with our technology, we can build powerful new online shopping experiences for consumers and merchants," said Hudson. "We'll have the ability to help millions of retailers efficiently reach consumers with offers that deliver more and more value to Honey members."