Credit Karma acquires Noddle, a UK credit scoring platform from TransUnion, to expand its international footprint beyond the US

Credit Karma, a personal finance startup company that offers free credit scores, reports and insights, has acquired TransUnion-owned Noddle to expand beyond the US and grows its international footprint into the United Kingdom. The terms of deal were not disclosed. The news comes just months after TransUnion bought Noddle’s parent company, Callcredit, for $1.3 billion. As part of the acquisition, TransUnion-owned Noddle’s with more than 35 employees in London and Leeds, will join Credit Karma.

Credit Karma was last valued at $4 billion after the private equity giant Silver Lake bought a $500 million stake in the fintech startup early this year, making it a unicorn startup and one of the most valuable private fintech firms in the world. Credit Karma expects to hire more than 70 employees in the next year and add Noddle’s more than 4 million customers, increasing its total user base to over 89 million.

Founded in 2007 by Kenneth Lin, Nichole Mustard and Ryan Graciano, Credit Karma is a personal finance technology company with more than 85 million members in the United States and Canada, including almost half of all millennials. The company offers a suite of products for members to monitor and improve credit health, prepare and file taxes, and provides identity monitoring and auto insurance estimates. Credit Karma leverages advanced data modeling to analyze and identify the best financial products for its members and has facilitated more than $40 billion in credit lines across financial products like credit cards, personal loans, mortgage refinancing, automotive financing and student loan refinancing.

Noddle’s more than 4 million members will join Credit Karma, a technology platform that already helps more than 85 million members in North America make financial progress. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval from the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority, and is expected to close in late 2018 or early 2019.

“We are driven by our mission to help people make financial progress. To truly deliver on this, we knew we needed to expand beyond North America,” said Nichole Mustard, Chief Revenue Officer and Co-founder of Credit Karma. “The U.K. was an obvious next step and Noddle is the ideal partner to help us get there. We look forward to welcoming its more than 35 employees to the Credit Karma family.”

Credit Karma will provide people in the U.K. with one of the most up-to-date and personalized experiences in the market, including complete access to their credit reports and scores from TransUnion as well as truly free services to help monitor and grow their credit. Most importantly, Credit Karma will provide members with access to financial products best suited for their financial situation.

“Noddle’s similar mission and history as the first provider of free credit information in the U.K. made this a clear decision for Credit Karma,” said Credit Karma’s Vice President of International, Valerie Wagoner. “We’re confident our depth of experience working across data providers along with banks and lenders will accelerate the number of services we provide to help consumers make the most of their money.”

The expansion comes at a pivotal year for Credit Karma, which now serves more than 85 million members in the U.S. and Canada. Silver Lake Partners’ recent $500 million secondary investment saw an increase in the company’s valuation to $4 billion based on common stock and ranking it among the top fintech companies in the world based on valuation.

“We are proud to have partnered with Credit Karma from its inception to empower tens of millions of consumers with the information they need to make smarter financial decisions,” said John Danaher, TransUnion’s president of Consumer Interactive. “This deal represents an expansion of our mission to the United Kingdom, and we look forward to supporting Credit Karma as they continue to expand globally.”

Noddle and its parent company, Callcredit, were acquired by TransUnion earlier this year. Upon completion of the deal with Credit Karma, Noddle will be wholly-owned by Credit Karma.