Walmart-backed start-up is acquiring two fintech companies, Even and ONE

A financial technology start-up that Walmart created and backed said Wednesday it is acquiring two more companies as it aims to build an all-in-one app where consumers can manage their money.

The combined company will be called ONE, the name of one of the firms that the fintech start-up is acquiring. It is also acquiring another fintech company, Even. Financial terms were not disclosed.

A year ago, Walmart said it was teaming up with Ribbit Capital, one of the investment firms behind Robinhood, to launch an independent fintech start-up. Walmart, the country’s largest private employer and largest grocer, said the start-up would develop unique, affordable financial products for its customers and employees.

Walmart has the majority stake of the start-up, which until now had been called Hazel, and its board includes several top executives, including Walmart’s Chief Financial Officer Brett Biggs and Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner.

A few months after it was announced, the venture hired two Goldman Sachs bankers to help spearhead the effort, including Omer Ismail, who led Goldman’s consumer bank. Ismail will lead ONE, according to a Wednesday’s news release.

When the two acquisitions close, the combined business will have more than 200 employees and more than $250 million in cash on the balance sheet to fuel growth, Walmart and Ribbit Capital said. The start-up said it expects the transactions to close in the first half of 2022.

The acquisitions were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.