TurboTax maker Intuit to buy Mailchimp for about $ 12 billion in data reproduction

September 13 (Reuters) – Intuit Inc. (INTU.O), known for its business accounting and DIY software, announced Monday that it will acquire digital marketing company Mailchimp for about $ 12 billion in a deal cash and shares. .

The deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter of fiscal year 2022, is Intuit’s biggest acquisition. It will be financed through cash and a new debt of between $ 4.5 billion and $ 5 billion, Intuit said. Last year, the company bought the personal finance portal Credit Karma for just over $ 7 billion.

The deal for Atlanta-based Mailchimp, which operates a marketing platform for small and mid-market businesses, will help Intuit add information to its Quickbooks platform that tracks spending.

“There is incredible power in combining customer data and purchase data, and we wanted to put the power of the data in the hands of our customers,” said Sasan Goodarzi, chief executive of Intuit.

The deal comes at a time when fintech technology companies like Intuit are benefiting from a pandemic-induced fall recovery among small businesses. The company has projected profit and revenue levels above forecasts for fiscal year 2022.

Founded in 2001, Mailchimp has its roots in a web design agency called Rocket Science Group, which co-founders Ben Chestnut and Dan Kurzius began focusing on large corporate companies, according to their website.

They closed the agency in 2007 to focus exclusively on Mailchimp, which they ran as an email marketing service for small businesses. Without external funding, the company has been profitable and promotes more than 12 million customers worldwide.

Mailchimp reported revenue of $ 800 million in 2020, up 20% year-on-year. Half of their income comes from outside the United States. The company will continue to be headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, and will operate under its current brand after the acquisition.

Intuit products based in Mountain View, California include TurboTax, software that helps Americans file income tax returns, and QuickBooks, a cloud-based application that helps small businesses manage payments.

Intuit, which was started in 1983 by Scott Cook and Tom Proulx, went public ten years later and now has more than 10,000 employees in 20 offices in nine locations around the world.

The deal is expected to add to Intuit’s adjusted earnings for fiscal year 2022.

The two companies began discussing partnerships more than a year ago, and those discussions later evolved to speak of an acquisition. Bloomberg reported the talks in early September.

Morgan Stanley was Initit’s financial advisor, with Latham & Watkins as legal advisor. Qatalyst Partners and King & Spalding LLP advised Mailchimp.

Reports of Sohini Podder, Anirban Sen and Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru, Krystal Hu in New York; Edited by Arun Koyyur, Matthew Lewis and Sonya Hepinstall

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