Meta Platforms Inc, the owner of social media network Facebook, is behind a $60 million deal to acquire the trademark assets of U.S. regional bank Meta Financial Group, spokespeople for the companies said on Monday.
The deal underscores how valuable the Meta name has become for the technology giant, which is betting that its focus on the metaverse – shared digital spaces accessed via the internet through an array of devices – will pay off handsomely in the coming years.
Meta Financial had said in regulatory filing on Monday that a Delaware company called Beige Key LLC agreed to acquire the worldwide rights to its company names for $60 million in cash. It did not disclose who the owner of Beige Key was.
As well as offering products through its MetaBank subsidiary including consumer savings, loans and credit cards, and commercial lending, Meta Financial partners with institutions including government agencies and financial technology firms to offer banking services with the aim of bolstering financial inclusion.
Meta Financial’s shares were trading 1.5% lower in mid-afternoon trading, giving it a market capitalization of around $1.74 billion. Meta Platforms was up 1.6%, valuing it at $933 billion.
– Reuters