Goldman Sachs Also Enters BNPL... Acquires GreenSky for 2.6 Trillion Won

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Global investment bank (IB) Goldman Sachs is acquiring BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later) fintech company Greensky for $2.2 billion. This move is interpreted as an effort to strengthen retail financial services.

According to major foreign media on the 15th (local time), Goldman Sachs has agreed to acquire Greensky for $2.24 billion (approximately 2.6 trillion KRW) to enhance its asset management service platform for individual investors, 'Marcus.' The deal will be conducted by paying 0.03 shares of Goldman Sachs stock for each share of Greensky. Reflecting this, the acquisition price per share of Greensky is about $12.11, which includes a 56% premium over the previous closing price of $7.77. Goldman Sachs plans to complete the acquisition of Greensky between the fourth quarter of this year and the first quarter of next year.

David Zalik, founder and largest shareholder of Greensky, is expected to join Goldman Sachs as a partner.

Founded in 2006, Greensky is a BNPL company. It brokers loans online for all individuals who need expenses ranging from construction projects to plastic surgery. Greensky, which went public on Nasdaq in 2018, currently has about 4 million users.

Goldman Sachs has been driving efforts to strengthen retail finance targeting individuals for several years. Until now, it has focused on raising large sums from corporations and on IB sectors such as mergers and acquisitions, but it has faced profitability decline and performance deterioration. To address this, Goldman Sachs launched 'Marcus' in 2016, providing services such as savings accounts, personal loans, and investment advice to individuals, marking its full-scale entry into the retail finance sector.

David Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs, said, "We aspire for Marcus to become a consumer finance platform in the future," adding, "The acquisition of Greensky will accelerate the achievement of this goal."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.