Intuit to buy Credit Karma in a cash-and-stock deal for about $7.1 billion

Intuit said on Monday it would buy privately held personal finance portal Credit Karma in a cash-and-stock deal for about $7.1 billion, as the TurboTax maker seeks to expand further into consumer finance.

Credit Karma was valued at about $4 billion based on its last funding round in March 2018, led by private equity firm Silver Lake. Credit Karma is also backed by financial-technology venture firm Ribbit Capital. (https://intuit.me/37WWuxt) The purchase price will be payable in equal portions of cash and Intuit stock, with the shares of Intuit being valued at about $299.73 per share, the company said.

The deal would be neutral to accretive to Intuit's adjusted earnings per share in the first year after the transaction closes, which is expected in the second half of 2020.

The Wall Street Journal first reported details of the talks on Sunday.

Intuit's shares were up nearly 2 per cent after market. Intuit's shares closed down nearly 4 per cent on Monday. Broader markets also fell sharply amid heightened coronavirus fears.

Qatalyst Partners acted as financial adviser to Intuit, while Goldman Sachs advised Credit Karma.

Mountain View, California-based Intuit went public in 1993, a decade after it was founded. It is the maker of TurboTax, an online software used by millions to file taxes.

Intuit also reported its second-quarter results, posting a 27 per cent rise in profit compared to a year earlier, as it earned more from its QuickBooks bookkeeping software.