June 20 Reuters Investment firm KKR has agreed to purchase a substantial portion, or up to 40 billion euros 43.71 billion, of PayPal39;s buy now, pay later BNPL loans in Europe, the payments company said on Tuesday.

Even though BNPL remains popular after the pandemicled surge in its use among millennials and Gen Z customers, the sector39;s fortunes turned last year as rising interest rates and redhot inflation dampened the purchasing power of consumers.

PayPal shares rose 2 in premarket trading on the news of the deal, which is expected to generate about 1.8 billion in gross proceeds and close in the second half the year.

The company said its growth forecast for adjusted profit, made in May, of about 20 on a per share basis, which was above Wall Street estimates, already included the deal.

After the deal closes, PayPal expects to allocate roughly 1 billion to incremental share repurchases in 2023, contributing to an updated outlook of about 5 billion in total share repurchases so far this year.

Last year, PayPal processed more than 20 billion of BNPL payment volume globally, up nearly 160 from 2021. Since launching its BNPL service in 2020, PayPal has issued more than 200 million loans to over 30 million customers globally.

The company said it will continue to remain responsible for all customerfacing activities, including underwriting and servicing associated with its European BNPL products.

1 0.9151 euros

Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun…