NerdWallet to acquire On The Barrelhead
Financial guidance platform NerdWallet has entered into an acquisition agreement with On the Barrelhead, “a data-driven platform that provides consumers and SMBs with credit-driven product recommendations to help improve their financial lives.”
Founded in 2017, the Colorado-based startup describes itself as a robo-advisor for consumer debt. On The Barrelhead operates several consumer-facing brands around personal loans, mortgages, student loans, and business loans. It also owns The Rate Chopper, which helps consumers find car insurance savings.
Through this acquisition, On the Barrelhead will fully integrate into NerdWallet’s existing teams, brand, products and technology.
Under the terms of the merger agreement, NerdWallet will acquire all of the outstanding shares of On the Barrelhead for total consideration of approximately $120 million, subject to customary purchase price adjustments, consisting of approximately $70 million in cash and $50 million in NerdWallet Class A common stock.
A new compensatory bonus retention pool of approximately $30 million has been planned for On the Barrelhead management.
For the twelve months ended December 31, 2021, On the Barrelhead generated approximately $38 million in revenue, growing roughly 90% year-over-year, and $5 million in net income.
“Our vision for a trusted financial ecosystem means we’re able to provide consumers and SMBs with a trusted platform to learn about various financial topics, shop for products, connect their data and receive data-driven nudges. On the Barrelhead’s data and technology solutions will help us advance toward our goal by enabling us to leverage consumer information to provide users with relevant financial guidance and more personalized and compelling product recommendations. Their differentiated technology solutions and NerdWallet’s trusted brand and reach will also strengthen our footprint in the lending space by providing significant value to our partners.” – Tim Chen, CEO and co-founder of NerdWallet.
“Finding trustworthy guidance and recommendations on how to access capital and consolidate debt is hard to come across for consumers and SMBs. We are excited to be joining NerdWallet’s dedicated and knowledgeable team to unlock more ways for our users to optimize their finances.” – Sam Yount, CEO and co-founder of On the Barrelhead.
