Square’s market debut sees shares soar 64%

Mobile phone company’s strong opening offered hope to start-ups hoping to go public

Shares of Square, the mobile payments company co-founded and still run by Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey, rose yesterday. Photograph: Scott Eells/Bloomberg
Shares of Square, the mobile payments company co-founded and still run by Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey, rose yesterday. Photograph: Scott Eells/Bloomberg

Shares of Square, the mobile payments company co-founded and still run by Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey, rose as much as 64 per cent in their market debut.

The positive reception extended to media mogul Barry Diller's Match Group – the owner of dating site Match.com and mobile app Tinder – which jumped as much 16.7 per cent on its market debut, valuing the company at $3.36 billion.

The company’s strong opening offered hope to start-ups hoping to go public.

Both companies have come to the market at a time when several others were forced to discount or delay IPOs. More than 50 companies have withdrawn plans to go public in the US this year.

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Square’s shares touched a high of $14.78 in early trading yesterday, valuing the company at $4.77 billion. – (Reuters)