SoFi pays $1.2 billion for Galileo Financial

Galileo Financial Technologies, a financial technology company based in Salt Lake City, has been acquired by Social Finance, marketed under the moniker SoFi. San Francisco-based SoFi is a digital personal finance operation. Galileo is a portfolio company of Mercato Partners Traverse Fund of Cottonwood Heights. The sale price was $1.2 billion.

“To excel in the growth stage, a CEO and leadership team must be able to envision and execute at a level of innovation and ambition others might not even imagine,” said Greg Warnock, Mercato Partners managing director and Galileo board member. “They must be hungry for large-scale problem-solving and provide the energy and direction to fuel exponential growth. The CEO, in particular, must convey a strong vision and display an ongoing, unrelenting commitment to excellence. Clay Wilkes absolutely fits that profile and has done a world-class job of leading Galileo. We congratulate Clay and the entire Galileo team and look forward to the continued pace of innovation and value Galileo will bring to SoFi customers.”

Mercato led Galileo’s Series A financing in 2014 with an $8 million investment. Galileo used the proceeds to invest in its differentiated technology and bolster its go-to-market efforts. Beginning with product innovation, Galileo developed and shared its application programming to enable fintech companies and developers to build on its platform, which spurred robust business development, expanded Galileo’s client base, drove organic growth and elevated operating margins, Warnock explained. Galileo further fortified its technology by developing an AI-driven fraud protection solution. 

SoFi helps people achieve financial independence with products for borrowing, saving, spending, investing and protecting assets. It has more than 1 million members.