- American Express Company (NYSE: AXP) is reportedly in advanced discussions to buy Kabbage for as much as $850 million in cash
American Express Company (NYSE: AXP) is reportedly in advanced discussions to buy Kabbage for as much as $850 million in cash, according to Bloomberg’s sources. By purchasing Kabbage, American Express would become a larger lender to SMBs.
Last month, American Express chief executive officer Steve Squeri noted that small businesses had bounced back faster during the COVID-19 pandemic than other customers in the financial company’s broader credit card portfolio.
And American Express chief financial officer Jeff Campbell also noted that the financial giant feels “really good” about the small business portfolio. A smaller percentage of balances in forbearance were tied to those loans.
The deal to buy Kabbage would also include retention payments. And the agreement could be announced as soon as this month.
Kabbage has raised about $2.5 billion in debt financing and institutional funding since it was founded, according to Crunchbase. The company’s investors include Credit Suisse, the SoftBank Vision Fund, Reverence Capital Partners, Guggenheim Securities, and Thomvest Ventures.
The company was founded by Kathryn Petralia and Rob Frohwein in late 2008.
