NEW YORK, Feb. 14, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Block, Inc. f/k/a Square Inc. (“Block” or the “Company”) Q. Those investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at newaction@pomlaw.com or 888-476-6529, extension 7980.

The investigation concerns whether Block and certain of its officers and/or directors engaged in securities fraud or other illegal business practices.

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On 31 January 2022, Block completed the acquisition of Afterpay (the “Merger”), then an Australian limited company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, under a Scheme of Arrangement under Australia’s Corporations Act 2001 (the “Scheme”) . Under the plan, Block acquired all outstanding common shares of Afterpay in exchange for 0.375 of a share of newly issued SQ Class A common stock or equivalent SQ CHESS depository interest. In connection with the merger, Block told Afterpay shareholders that “[t]The Square Securities issued in the [Merger] expected to be issued in reliance on an available exemption [registration] pursuant to Section 3(a)(10) of the Securities Act.” Relying on these and other statements regarding the merger, the directors of Afterpay recommended that Afterpay stockholders vote in favor of the merger, and a substantial majority of Afterpay stockholders did so As a result, on or about January 31, 2022, Block directly offered and sold approximately 113 million Block shares to former Afterpay shareholders in connection with the merger. However, contrary to Block’s representations, the Company had not satisfied any mandatory conditions required to exempt those shares from registration under Section 3(a)(10), which would have permitted the issuance and sale of unregistered Block Shares.

Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Paris and Tel Aviv,…