Rocket Companies  (RKT) – Get Rocket Companies Inc Class A Report said Monday it will pay $1.3 billion for the personal finance app Truebill as fintech sector deals continue to drive a record year for global merger activity. 

Rocket said Truebill, which was founded in 2015, has around 2.5 million users on it app, which allows people to link to their existing bank accounts track their spending, investments and finances. The $1.275 billion all-cash deal will add to Rocket’s ability to offer what it calls ‘end-to-end’ services in home and auto loans as it moves closer to its goal of creating a one-stop destination for personal financial management. 

“We are very impressed with what Truebill has created – providing a simple, intuitive client experience to help its users save significant money,” said Rocket CEO Jay Farner. “The company is a perfect fit for the Rocket platform. Truebill’s work helping Americans keep track of their finances and providing guidance that leads to better financial outcomes follows the same philosophy as Rocket Companies – leveraging the power of technology to remove the friction from complex transactions – and applies it to everyday life.”  

Rocket shares were marked 1.1% lower in pre-market trading Monday to indicate an opening bell price of $15.25 each, a move that extends their six-month decline to around 21%.

Fintech deals have been unusually active over the second half of this year, highlighted by Square’s  (SQ) – Get Square, Inc. Class A Report agreement to buy Australia’s buy now, pay later group Afterpay for around $29 billion in August.   

Square’s larger rival, PayPal Holdings,  (PYPL) – Get PayPal Holdings, Inc. Report paid $2.7 billion for Japan-based ‘buy now, pay later’ firm Paidy in September, while Amazon Inc.  (AMZN) – Get Amazon.com, Inc. Report, the world’s biggest retailer, inked a partnership with Affirm Holdings  (AFRM) – Get Affirm Holdings, Inc. Class A Report that will allow buyers to split purchases for $50 or more into monthly payments on the group’s payment network.

Global merger deals topped $5 trillion for the first time on record this year, an all-time high powered in part by SPAC deals, cheap capital and major corporate restructurings.

Dealogic, which compiles merger and acquisition data, said the value of global deals rose 63% from last year to $5.63 trillion, a fresh all-time high that eclipsed the 2007 record of $4.42 trillion.

Plans unveiled by General Electric  (GE) – Get General Electric Company Report, 3M  (MMM) – Get 3M Company Report and Johnson &…….

Source: https://www.thestreet.com/markets/rocket-buys-truebill-for-1-3-billion-in-latest-fintech-deal