“Of all the many high-profile Internet companies, perhaps none has attracted more speculation than Square,” Jason Del Rey reports for Re/code. “And news that the company secured a revolving credit line of about $200 million has only ratcheted up the intrigue. Let’s try for some clarity then, answering some of the outstanding questions about the startup,” Del Rey reports. “The most-asked question, of course, is whether Square is for sale or not. And that answer depends on what you mean by for sale. In the last year, both Apple and Google have considered making acquisition offers for Square, according to industry sources familiar with the situation. (The Information previously reported Google’s consideration.) That makes sense, but it’s still unclear if it was more than a typical business development exercise.”
“A sale to Google would disappoint Dorsey, according to multiple people familiar with his thinking. For one, he was reportedly put off by Google after being involved in acquisition talks between his former company, Twitter, and the search giant. He also believes, sources said, that his company’s design aesthetic and values match up much more closely with Apple than Google,” Del Rey reports. “That’s not surprising when you consider that Square’s hardware chief Jesse Dorogusker worked at Apple for more than eight years. He most recently was a director of engineering for the iPod, iPhone and iPad accessories, according to his LinkedIn profile. Apple has also sold Square products in its stores, most recently the Square Stand. ‘Jack does not want to sell to Google,’ one source said flatly.”
“Square would immediately give Apple built-in distribution at thousands of businesses that use it to manage their payments,” Del Rey reports. “A deal with Apple could mean that Square could stop worrying about getting adoption for Square Wallet. Apple already has hundreds of millions of credit cards on file through its iTunes service and could use those, along with its own digital wallet, Passbook, as the underpinnings of its own mobile-payments offering for consumers.”
Much more in the full article here.