Wonga, a UK-based online provider of short-term cash advances, is reportedly in talks to acquire corporate venturing-backed On Deck Capital, a US-based provider of small business loans. The deal would be worth less than $250m, according to newswire Bloomberg.
Wonga has raised around $145m from venture capital firms Balderton Capital, Accel Partners, Greylock Partners, Dawn Capital, Oak Investment Partners and Meritech Capital Partners and quasi-corporate venturing unit Wellcome Trust.
In August, On Deck raised $97m of debt after extending its $15m series C equity round by $4m a year earlier.
US-based investment firm SF Capital Group provided the $4m C round extension and, along with Lighthouse Capital Partners, has provided $17m in venture debt to On Deck.
On Deck’s initial close of its C round in January last year was led by SAP Ventures, the corporate venturing unit of Germany-based software conglomerate SAP.
Other backers of On Deck are venture capital firms RRE Ventures Contour Ventures, First Round Capital, Khosla Ventures and Village Ventures, all of whom had participated in On Deck’s series A and B rounds. The company has raised $38m venture funding in total, a spokesman said.