LendingTree, which operates an online lending exchange, has wrapped up the acquisition of Value Holding, the parent of personal finance website ValuePenguin, for $105m.
ValuePenguin offers research and analysis on multiple topics in the financial space including insurance and credit cards.
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LendingTree funded $90m of the deal consideration using its revolving credit facility. It financed the remainder using its existing liquidity.
As part of the deal, the company offered restricted stock unit awards to 25 key Value staff.
“The twenty-five key employees were granted restricted stock units for an aggregate of 3,815 shares. These restricted stock units will vest, if at all, over three years from the date of closing with one-third of the total award amount vesting each year. The awards provide for accelerated vesting in the event of certain events,” LendingTree said.
The ValuePenguin deal was first announced last month. It comes shortly after LendingTree’s purchase of insurance comparison marketplace QuoteWizard.com.
While announcing the ValuePenguin deal, LendingTree founder and CEO Doug Lebda said: “Our recent QuoteWizard acquisition was our first step toward leadership in insurance customer acquisition.
“Adding ValuePenguin’s high-quality content and SEO capability to QuoteWizard’s proprietary technology and carrier network will set us apart and enable us to provide immense value to carriers and agents. Both businesses will benefit from LendingTree’s strong brand and extensive marketing capabilities.”
