Red Ventures buying financial services website for $1.4 billion

July 03--Red Ventures, the fast-growing marketing and technology firm based in Indian Land, S.C., said Monday that it is buying personal finance website Bankrate for $1.4 billion in cash.

The deal is the latest for the privately held Red Ventures, which has made a series of investments and acquisitions in recent years. It's also known for its aggressive hiring at its campus across the border from Charlotte.

Under the agreement, Bankrate shareholders will receive $14 per share in cash, a 31 percent premium over Bankrate's three-month average closing price.

Red Ventures said the deal will enhance its financial services presence and help it build relationships between consumers and financial services providers.

"We're excited to join forces with the Bankrate team, which has built an impressive and powerful platform of consumer-facing financial services content and brands," said Ric Elias, CEO of Red Ventures. "Our capabilities are highly complementary. We see significant potential to leverage our technology, strategic partnerships and digital expertise and build on Bankrate's leading platforms to help more consumers find the financial services and products that meet their needs."

The transaction is expected to close in 2017, pending approval by Bankrate shareholders and regulators.

Kenneth Esterow, CEO of New York-based Bankrate, said the company, as part of Red Ventures, will be "better positioned than ever to be the partner of choice for providers to acquire customers."

In early trading Monday, Bankrate shares were up about 9 percent to $14.02.

Last fall, Red Ventures bought Soda LLC, a Seattle-based tech firm that owns online brands including Reviews.com, Freshome and The Simple Dollar. In the past couple of years, it has also bought marketing firm Imagitas and made investments in companies including CourseHouse, Treehouse and Ampush.

In 2015, Red Ventures received an investment itself when private equity firm Silver Lake injected $250 million in return for a minority stake.

Rick Rothacker: 704-358-5170, @rickrothacker

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