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Shares in buy-now pay-later group Afterpay (ASX: APT) have spiked this morning on the news that Chinese tech giant Tencent has become a substantial shareholder in the company.
APT opened this morning at $38 per share as shareholders reacted to an announcement released on Friday evening that the company which owns WeChat acquired five per cent of Afterpay.
The company also hit a high of $39.59 per share today, marking a bounce-back to the same level Afterpay was at right before the COVID-19 financial crisis really hit Australia.
At the time of writing shares in APT are still going strong, up 23.97 per cent to $36.15 per share.
Read more: Afterpay on the defensive after enormous share price drop
On Friday co-founders Anthony Eisen and Nick Molnar welcomed Tencent as a substantial shareholder.
"We feel very privileged to welcome Tencent as a substantial shareholder in our business," said Eisen and Molnar.
"Being able to attract a strategic investor of this calibre is extremely rewarding and is a testament to our team and the strength of our differentiated business model.
"Tencent's investment provides us with the opportunity to learn from one of the world's most successful digital platform businesses. To be able to tap into Tencent's vast experience and network is valuable, as is the potential to collaborate in areas such as technology, geographic expansion and future payment options on the Afterpay platform."
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Business News Australia
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