Sezzle
The Minneapolis BNPL company that listed in Australia because Australia understood the model first — then saw a $355M merger with Zip collapse five months after it was announced.
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- Location
- Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
- Country
- United States
- Founded
- 2016
- Co-founder and CEO
- Charlie Youakim
- Listed
- Australian Securities Exchange (ASX: SZL), July 2019
- Business
- Buy now, pay later — purchases split into four interest-free installments over six weeks
- Failed merger
- Zip Co, announced February 2022 (~$355M), terminated July 2022
Overview
Sezzle is a Minneapolis-based buy now, pay later company founded in 2016, co-founded and led by CEO Charlie Youakim, that lets shoppers split purchases into four interest-free installments over six weeks, with 25% charged at the time of purchase (Finovate; Small Caps).
The American BNPL that went public in Australia
Sezzle’s most distinctive corporate decision was where it listed. The company said it chose the Australian Securities Exchange over U.S. markets because, prior to 2020, the BNPL model was more commonplace in Australia — Afterpay, a major BNPL player, is headquartered in Melbourne — and Australian investors already understood the operating model (Finovate; Small Caps). The bet worked at first: its July 2019 IPO was oversubscribed at $43.6 million, priced at $1.22 per CDI, and the shares rose 82% within two hours of listing, giving the three-year-old company an indicative market value of around $217 million (Small Caps). At the time Youakim held approximately 49.7% of the company, and its merchant count was growing by a quarterly average of 79.3% from December 2017 to March 2019 (Small Caps).
Beyond the core four-installment product — delivered partly through a Sezzle Virtual Card usable anywhere Visa is accepted — the company built a credit-building layer (Sezzle Up, which reports on-time payments to credit bureaus) and a long-term financing tool in partnership with Ally (Finovate).
A merger made and unmade in five months
In February 2022, Australian BNPL rival Zip agreed to acquire Sezzle in a deal valuing it at about $355 million. The plan called for Sezzle to rebrand as Zip and for Youakim to lead Zip’s U.S. business; the combined company would have had 13.3 million customers and 129,000 merchant partners (Finovate). Five months later the deal was dead: Zip dropped the buyout, citing “current macroeconomic and market conditions,” and Sezzle received an $11 million break fee under the joint termination (Reuters). The collapse was part of a sector-wide repricing — rising rates shrank BNPL valuations, Australia’s Latitude pulled back its Humm buyout, and Openpay paused its U.S. operations (Reuters). Between the February announcement and the July termination, Sezzle lost nearly 82% of its value, falling to A$84.9 million from A$491 million (Reuters).
What this profile does not claim
This profile does not assert a single merger valuation — Finovate reported $355 million while Reuters cited A$491 million ($330.34 million) at announcement, and both figures are presented with their sources. The reported 2025 antitrust lawsuit against Shopify was not verified from a fully-read independent source and is not stated. Sezzle’s business status after the 2022 merger collapse was not verified from fully-read independent sources and is not asserted.
Timeline
- 2016
- Sezzle is founded in Minneapolis as a buy now, pay later provider, letting shoppers split purchases into four installments over six weeks with 25% charged at checkout.
- 2019
- Sezzle lists on the Australian Securities Exchange in an oversubscribed $43.6M IPO at $1.22 per CDI — chosen because, before 2020, the BNPL model was more commonplace in Australia — and pops 82% on its first day to a ~$217M market value.
- 2022
- Zip agrees in February to acquire Sezzle for about $355M; Sezzle would rebrand to Zip and CEO Charlie Youakim would lead Zip's U.S. business.
- 2022
- Zip abandons the buyout in July, citing macroeconomic conditions; Sezzle receives an $11M break fee, having lost nearly 82% of its value since the deal was announced.
What we could not verify
These claims came up in research and could not be confirmed. They are recorded here rather than published as fact or quietly dropped. If you hold a source that settles one, please tell us.
- The merger value is stated differently by sources ($355M per Finovate; A$491M / $330.34M per Reuters at announcement) — both are dated and neither is asserted as the single figure.
- The 2025 Shopify lawsuit against Sezzle appeared only in a Wikipedia lead and was not verified from a fully-read independent source; it is not asserted.
- Sezzle's post-2022 status was not verified from fully-read independent sources and is not stated.
Sources
3 sources (1 tier 1, 2 tier 2), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Every source is independent of the subject; no first-party material is cited. See the source policy.
Built entirely from independent sources fetched and read in full: Small Caps (tier2) for the ASX debut, Finovate (tier2) for the Zip merger terms and company history, and Reuters (tier1) for the merger collapse. No first-party sources were used, per the standing editorial rule. Wikipedia was used only as a lead index and is not cited.
- Supports: Deal termination, $11M break fee, macro rationale, 82% value loss (A$491M to A$84.9M), Youakim quote, sector context (Latitude/Humm, Openpay) Open original source
- Supports: $43.6M oversubscribed ASX IPO, $1.22 issue price, 82% first-day pop, ~$217M market value, Minneapolis base, Youakim ~49.7% stake, merchant/customer metrics, 25%-at-checkout model Open original source
- Supports: $355M deal value, Zip rebrand plan, Youakim to lead Zip US, combined customer/merchant scale, founded 2016, ASX-2019 listing rationale, Sezzle Virtual Card, Sezzle Up, Ally partnership Open original source
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