Acquisition equips Borrowell with additional products focused on financial well-being, while doubling its revenue and employee base
BorrowellDecember 15, 2020 08:00 ET
TORONTO, Dec. 15, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Borrowell, Canada’s leading free credit score provider and credit education company, announced today it is acquiring Refresh Financial, a Canadian leader in helping underserved Canadians gain long-term access to affordable forms of credit.
The combination of the two businesses will accelerate the breadth and accessibility of Borrowell’s product offering by providing a large segment of its growing user base an active way to build their credit history and access payment products. It also doubles Borrowell’s size in terms of revenue and number of employees.
“Many Canadians are living paycheque-to-paycheque, they’re struggling with their bills and they’re feeling increased stress about their personal finances,” said Andrew Graham, Borrowell’s co-founder and CEO. “By integrating Refresh Financial’s products and team, Borrowell can provide more people with accessible loans and secured cards to help them manage their expenses, build their credit history and take their next steps towards financial stability.”
Since 2016, Borrowell has provided over 1.5 million Canadians with free credit score and report monitoring, automated credit coaching tools and AI-driven financial product recommendations based on their credit profile. The Toronto-based fintech’s mission is to make financial stability possible for everyone. Acquiring Refresh Financial brings Borrowell closer to achieving that mission.
“We know how critical a strong financial reputation is to Canadians in order to access affordable credit, and achieve life goals like buying a house or car,” said Michael Wendland, Refresh Financial’s founder and CEO. “Borrowell has been a great partner for many years and I am truly excited about further integrating Refresh’s products into their platform. I know that as a combined organization, we can play an important role during these times in providing Canadians from all backgrounds with access to credit, helping them not only manage today but thrive tomorrow.”
The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021. Raymond James Ltd. acted as financial advisor to Borrowell and Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP acted as legal advisor. Ernst & Young Orenda Corporate Finance Inc. acted as financial advisor to Refresh and Bennett Jones LLP acted as legal advisor.
About Borrowell Borrowell is dedicated to making financial stability possible for everyone. The company offers free credit scores, education, and weekly credit monitoring, as well as innovative digital tools like AI-powered credit coaching and personalized financial product recommendations.
With over one and a half million members, Borrowell is one of largest fintech companies in Canada. Borrowell has won numerous awards, including being named one of the top 100 fintech companies in the world by KPMG, earning a spot on the Deloitte Technology Fast 50™ list of fastest growing companies in Canada (2019 and 2020), and making App Annie's list of Breakout Finance Apps for 2019. For more information, please visit www.borrowell.com. You can also download the Borrowell mobile app for Android and iOS today.
About Refresh Financial Refresh Financial is a Canadian owned and operated fintech, whose mission is to help Canadians achieve access to affordable credit. Based in British Columbia, with numerous referral partners across the country, the company has helped more than 100,000 Canadians with credit building solutions, equipping them with tools to help them achieve and sustain long term financial success. For more information, please visit www.refreshfinancial.ca.
About Skidmore Group The Skidmore Group is a family enterprise that turns good businesses into great companies. We believe in the entrepreneurial spirit and creating value from collaboration, commitment, excellence, and the process of innovation. In partnering with Skidmore, companies benefit from 70 years of deep operational experience and the financial resources to transform results.