This article discusses the recent acquisition of Loopt by Green Dot:
Green Dot Corp. has agreed to buy location-based deals company Loopt Inc., the prepaid card marketer announced March 9.
Green Dot, of Monrovia, Calif., said the acquisition would allow it to build out a mobile wallet and rewards system. The deal, which Green Dot expects to close this month, also would help to improve customer retention and target new consumer segments, the company said.
Green Dot agreed to pay $43.4 million for Loopt. About $9.8 million of that is to be set aside as a retention pool for certain Loopt employees, Green Dot said. It also plans to keep Loopt’s Mountain View, Calif., headquarters.
In a succinctly worded statement, Steve Streit indicates the belief that mobile phones will change the way people manage money, shop, and pay – and so given this is discussed around the acquisition of Loopt, one assumes Social interaction is a major contributor to the impact mobile will have. He also goes further, however, indicating that there is an opportunity for Green Dot to become a supplier of mobile technology solutions for the POS.
“We believe that mobile phones have the potential to change the way people interact with their bank, control their money, and pay for goods and services,’ Steve Streit, Green Dot chairman and chief executive, said in a press release.
“When Loopt’s assets are layered into Green Dot’s platform, we believe that a significant opportunity emerges for Green Dot to become a large-scale player in mobile technology solutions at the retail point of sale,” he said.
How Green Dot will achieve this lofty goal is left unstated.
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