PayPal shares jump after it reveals $2 bln stake held by Elliott, announces new CFO, article with image

The PayPal app logo seen on a mobile phone in this illustration photo October 16, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration

Aug 2 (Reuters) – PayPal Holdings (PYPL.O) said on Tuesday Elliott Investment Management has an over $2 billion investment in the company, making the activist investor one of the largest shareholders in the fintech firm.

Paypal’s shares extended gains after the bell, rising as much as 11.8%.

The company also announced a slew of moves including appointing Blake Jorgensen as Paypal’s new chief financial officer and a new $15 billion repurchase program. Blake, who takes over the role on Wednesday, joins PayPal from Electronic Arts (EA.O).

PayPal has “an unmatched and industry-leading footprint across its payments businesses,” said Jesse Cohn, a managing partner at Elliot, a day after the investment firm disclosed a similar stake in Pinterest Inc (PINS.N). read more

PayPal, which was among companies that won big during the pandemic, saw shares wipe out over 70% of their market value in a year as e-commerce growth retreated from pandemic-era records.

The company earned a profit of 93 cents for the three months ended June 30, lower than $1.15 per share a year earlier.

PayPal’s revenue rose 10% on an FX neutral basis to $6.8 billion as payment volumes leapt 13%.

Reporting by Mehnaz Yasmin in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri

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