By David French
(Reuters) – Fintech startup Brigit, which counts the venture capital firms of actor Ashton Kutcher and basketball star Kevin Durant among its investors, is nearing a deal to sell itself to financial services firm Upbound Group, people familiar with the matter said.
The cash-and-stock deal is worth around $460 million and could be announced as soon as Thursday, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential deliberations.
Both Upbound and Brigit did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The combination will help Upbound expand its product offerings to credit-poor consumers and give it access to Brigit’s data modeling and technology platform, allowing it to create more accurate customer financial profiles, the sources said.
Rising inflation has pushed up prices and squeezed low-income Americans, who have few liquid resources, such as bank savings. Low-income households are on track to have fewer liquid assets this year than projected before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to research released in August by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
Founded in 2017, Brigit provides financial services including cash advances and credit-profile building through its subscription-based digital app. Brigit counts more than 7 million users of its app since inception, according to its website.
Plano, Texas-based Upbound, whose brands include Rent-A-Center and Acima, offers consumers with low credit scores help to buy products, including furniture, electronics, and other home goods, through so-called lease-to-own agreements.
For the quarter ended September 30, Upbound reported a 9.2% jump in revenue, while its operating profit rose to $70.1 million from $58.1 million a year ago, driven by higher rentals and sales from consumers.
(Reporting by David French in New York; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
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