Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday

Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday

Nov 21, 2019

PayPal acquires Honey browser plug-in for $4 billion

Dan Primack, author of Pro Rata

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

PayPal (Nasdaq: PYPL) agreed to buy Honey, an app and browser plug-in for e-commerce coupons, for around $4 billion in cash and stock.

Why it matters: It's PayPal's largest-ever acquisition, and the largest-ever purchase of a Los Angeles-based tech startup.

ROI: Honey had raised around $55 million from Anthos Capital, Citi Ventures, Mucker Capital, and Wonder Ventures. One source tells me that the company's most recent valuation was around $700 million.
The bottom line: "Once installed, Honey tracks price changes on retailer websites but can also automatically input coupon codes when a user enters an online checkout. If no coupons are available, Honey may also offer loyalty points that can be redeemed as gift cards. Given that PayPal already has 24 million online merchants, its latest acquisition will allow it to better target and personalize experiences for consumers the minute they arrive on a website." — Matt Brian, Engadget

Go deeper:

Go deeper

Rebecca Falconer

3 mins ago - Energy & Environment

Japan to release Fukushima water into sea

People near storage tanks for radioactive water at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, in 2020. Photo: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images

Japan's government on Tuesday announced plans to release more than 1 million metric tons of contaminated water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant in the Pacific Ocean following a treatment process.

Why it matters: While the Biden administration has said Japan appears to have met globally accepted nuclear safety standards, officials in South Korea, China and Taiwan, local residents, those in the fishing industry and green groups oppose the plans, due to begin in about two years, per the Guardian.

Go deeper (2 min. read)

Rebecca Falconer

2 hours ago - Axios Twin Cities

In photos: Twin Cities on edge after Daunte Wright shooting

Demonstrators shout "Don't shoot" at the police after curfew on April 12 as they protest the death of Daunte Wright, who was shot and killed by a police officer in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, a day earlier. Photo: Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images

There were tense scenes in the Twin Cities suburb of Brooklyn Center Monday night, after demonstrators defied a 7 p.m. curfew to protest for a second night the fatal police shooting of Daunte Wright.

The big picture: The curfew was announced following a night of protests and unrest over the killing of Wright, 20, during a traffic stop Sunday. Following peaceful protests and a daytime vigil, police again deployed tear gas during clashes with protesters Monday night, according to reporters on the scene.

See images (<1 min. read)

Russell Contreras, Stef W. Kight

3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

In photos: Life along the U.S.-Mexico border

Children at the border of the Puerto de Anapra colonia of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, hang on a border fence and look to Sunland Park, N.M. Photo: Russell Contreras/Axios

Axios traveled to McAllen and El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, to see how the communities are responding to an increase of migrants from Central America.

Of note: The region in South and West Texas are among the poorest in the nation and rarely are the regions covered in depth beyond the soundbites and press conference. Axios reporters Stef Kight and Russell Contreras walked the streets of McAllen, El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez to record images that struck them.

Go deeper (<1 min. read)

You’ve caught up. Now what?

Sign up for Mike Allen’s daily Axios AM and PM newsletters to get smarter, faster on the news that matters.