Payment services firm American Express has reached the advanced stage of discussions to acquire business finance platform Kabbage, potentially allowing corporates including SoftBank, UPS, Santander and Recruit to exit, Bloomberg reported yesterday.
The prospective deal could be sized at up to $850m including retention payments and close this month, according to a person familiar with the matter. It was valued at $1.2bn in its last funding round, when telecommunications and internet group SoftBank invested $250m in 2017.
Kabbage operates an online platform that provides financing for businesses, which can access up to $250,000 in capital, using artificial intelligence technology to automate the assessment process.
The SoftBank deal boosted the company’s funding to $490m since it was founded in 2009. UPS’s Strategic Enterprise Fund backed its $17m series B round in 2017 alongside Mohr Davidow Ventures and BlueRun Ventures.
SoftBank first invested in 2014 when its SoftBank Capital unit led a $50m series D round also featuring UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund, BlueRun Ventures, Mohr Davidow Ventures, TCW/Craton, Lumia Capital and Thomvest Ventures.
Kabbage raised $135m in series E funding in 2015 at a $1bn valuation from backers including UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund, human resources firm Recruit and banks Santander, ING and Scotiabank, with Santander and Recruit investing through Santander InnoVentures and Recruit Strategic Partners.
Reverence Capital Partners led the series E round, which also featured BlueRun Ventures, Thomvest Ventures and Yuan Capital.
