Intuit Reportedly Set To Spend $7B To Buy Credit Karma

Intuit is close to finishing a deal to buy personal finance portal Credit Karma for around $7 billion in both cash and stock, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The deal will push the bookkeeping software giant more into the realm of consumer finance, people familiar with the deal said.

Credit Karma, currently a privately-held company, could find itself owned by Intuit by Monday, officials said, unless the deal falls apart. Intuit is known for making online tax filing service TurboTax, which is used by millions of people. Credit Karma was valued at $4 billion in a private share sale around two years ago.

Credit Karma offers a number of services including free access to one’s credit score and borrowing history, alerts to potential data breaches, and tax preparation and filing. Users also receive offers from companies for credit cards and loans, tailored to their credit history. The company makes money when users use those products.

Intuit would gain a strong standing in the world of online personal finance by acquiring Credit Karma. Aside from TurboTax, Intuit is known for its QuickBooks service, used by businesses, and Mint, an online budgeting platform that pitches people financial products as well. Intuit is valued at around $77 billion.

If the deal goes forward, Credit Karma would still operate as an independent entity, and its chief executive Kenneth Lin would remain in charge. Joining forces would have the benefit of allowing both companies to hone their recommendations to customers, as the amount of financial data they have access to would be greatly expanded.

Credit Karma is currently backed by funders like private-equity firm Silver Lake and financial technology venture firm Ribbit Capital, and the acquisition would cap a rapid rise for the company.

While Credit Karma was hoping to make an initial public offering by 2019, the IPO market has been disappointing as of late, with less-than-stellar starts for companies like Uber and Casper.