Meta Buys Tax Refund Company for $50 Million (July 20, 2015)
Meta Financial Group Inc. and bank subsidiary MetaBank are getting ready for tax season early with the acquisition of Fort Knox Financial Services Corp. and its subsidiary, Tax Product Services, for approximately $50 million. The purchase will be paid half in Meta Financial common stock and half in cash, and the deal is expected to close in the third quarter, according to the Sioux Falls, S.D.-based financial services company.
Fort Knox’s Refund Advantage brand is a provider of professional tax refund-transfer software used by independent tax companies in more than 10,000 locations in the U.S., and processes more than 1 million refund transfers annually. Fort Knox offers tax refund transfer solutions through ACH direct deposit, check and prepaid card. MetaBank is acquiring the Refund Advantage trade name as part of the deal, and the Fort Knox team will continue to operate from Louisville, Ky.
“The Fort Knox acquisition will enhance our mission of ‘financial inclusion for all’ by deepening our business in this key space,” said J. Tyler Haahr, MetaBank chairman and CEO said. “This acquisition also will further diversify our business model and enable us to provide more comprehensive solutions to our customers and partners.”
Meta is not the first significant prepaid player to expand its tax refund business through acquisition. Green Dot Corp. last August acquired Santa Barbara Tax Products Group, the largest consumer tax refund processor in the U.S., for $320 million..
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