Why Did PayPal File For An IPO?

from the so-many-questions dept

A lot of people were very surprised when PayPal filed for an IPO a few weeks ago. Now, the theory is that they did so, simply to get their finances out in public so a potential acquirer might be more willing to buy them. The article points out that, as of right now, PayPal doesn't need any more cash, and they do have a ton of competition from bigger, more established players - but no one has the market share that PayPal does. This makes them a good acquisition target, and by filing to go public, they may help nudge the right acquirer into making a move.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  1. identicon
    sb, 19 Oct 2001 @ 9:25pm

    No Subject Given

    Question:

    Person 1 pays person 2 $100 via paypal.
    Person 2 requests the check cut and mailed to him.
    Person 1 then refustes payment, saying he got a defective product, or whatever. so person 1's Credit card company refuses payment to paypal. Yet funds have already been paid to person 2.
    Does paypal have to then recharge/sue person 1 for the money?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    Oliver Wendell Jones, 22 Oct 2001 @ 9:19am

    Re: No Subject Given

    If you have used PayPal recently, you'll find that they prefer you transfer money from your bank account rather than use your credit card, as there isn't as much legally you can do for a bank transfer, as opposed to the well known protection you get for using a credit card.

    If the person requests a check, then PayPal has a valid address where they can find the person, plus the person has to sign the check to cash it, so it's much more difficult for them to dispute ever receiving the money.

    If you are truly concerned about this, use one of the escrow services to help protect you, or make sure you use a credit card (and not a debit card!) to pay for the item.

    link to this | view in thread ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.