Mercato Partners Traverse Fund Portfolio Company, Galileo Financial Technologies, Acquired by SoFi for $1.2 Billion

SALT LAKE CITY, April 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Mercato Partners Traverse Fund ("Traverse"), today announced that Social Finance ("SoFi") has acquired one of its Growth Fund II portfolio companies, Galileo Financial Technologies ("Galileo"), a thriving API standard for card issuing programs and financial technology ("fintech") innovation. SoFi, the digital personal finance company, confirmed the signing of its definitive agreement to acquire Galileo Financial Technologies for $1.2 billion early this morning.

"To excel in the growth stage, a CEO and leadership team must be able to envision and execute at a level of innovation and ambition others might not even imagine," said Mercato Partners Managing Director and Galileo Board member, Greg Warnock. "They must be hungry for large scale problem-solving and provide the energy and direction to fuel exponential growth. The CEO, in particular, must convey a strong vision and display an ongoing, unrelenting commitment to excellence. Clay Wilkes absolutely fits that profile and has done a world-class job of leading Galileo. We congratulate Clay and the entire Galileo team and look forward to the continued pace of innovation and value Galileo will bring to SoFi customers."

Mercato led Galileo's Series A financing in 2014 with an $8 million investment. Galileo used the proceeds to invest in its differentiated technology and bolster its go-to-market efforts. Beginning with product innovation, Galileo developed and shared its APIs to enable fintech companies and developers to build on its platform, which spurred robust business development, expanded Galileo's client base, drove organic growth and elevated operating margins. Galileo further fortified its technology leadership position by developing an AI-driven fraud protection solution. Since its launch, users have reduced and remediated payment fraud loss by 80% over the industry standard.

SoFi helps people achieve financial independence to realize their ambitions. Founded in 2011 and based in San Francisco, SoFi started with online student loans and has expanded its product line to include personal and home loans, personal investing options, high yield bank accounts and insurance products. SoFi has more than 10 million registered users, has funded more than $30 billion in loans and has saved its members more than $1.5 billion to date. 

Galileo, a fintech leader whose sophisticated API-based enterprise payments platform helps run companies like Chime, Revolut, Transferwise, Monzo and Remitly, has grown rapidly by providing the building blocks for the world's most innovative payment programs. It is a flexible and dynamic platform, handling thousands of financial transactions daily for a total of $30 billion in payments annually.

Mercato seeks out underserved companies in overlooked markets to support entrepreneurship in ways that are unique and meaningful. The CEOs and leadership teams the company supports across Utah, Colorado, Idaho, Southern California, Illinois and Missouri deserve the same access to capital and the very best guidance available for navigating the growth stage. Mercato is dedicated to help companies, communities and entrepreneurial ecosystems benefit from participating in markets domestically and internationally.

In addition to growth-stage capital, Mercato leveraged its five known growth disciplines to support Galileo. In collaboration with Galileo, Mercato's investment and performance teams provided both strategic direction and tactical practices in the areas most critical to maximizing growth: sales, marketing, human capital, customer success and leadership.

There is a $7 trillion market cap for US-based financial services institutions which are being disrupted by thousands of emerging fintech companies. Galileo serves both emerging fintech disruptors and the finserv incumbents. The company is uniquely positioned for this moment. 

About Mercato Partners
Mercato Partners is a multi-practice growth firm providing both capital and guidance to founders and companies in a range of stages and a variety of industries ranging from technology firms to food and beverage operations to branded consumer companies. The experienced Mercato team of investors, analysts, and in-house performance operators combine forces with an extended network of advisors and service providers to accelerate growth and create lasting enterprise value. For more information, please visit www.mercatopartners.com.

About Galileo Financial Technologies
Based in Salt Lake City, Galileo is the API standard for card issuing programs. The payments technology company powers the world's most innovative card and fintech programs in North America. For more information, visit Galileo at www.galileo-FT.com.

About SoFi
SoFi helps people achieve financial independence to realize their ambitions. Our products for borrowing, saving, spending, investing, and protecting give our more than one million members fast access to tools to get their money right. SoFi membership comes with the key essentials for getting ahead, including career advisors and connection to a thriving community of like-minded, ambitious people. For more information, visit SoFi.com.

SOURCE Mercato Partners