A choppy economic climate has resulted in many deals going on pause but that’s not the case for Green Dot, the Utah fintech best known for its prepaid debit cards. First round bids for Green Dot were due last week and the process has attracted private equity firms, according to banking and private equity executives. PE firms are forming consortia that would allow them to buy Green Dot, the people said. Strategics are also involved in the process, they said.
The prospective sale has been complicated, however, because Green Dot owns a bank, while federal law prohibits PE firms from owning more than 24.9% of a bank. As a result, Green Dot could get sold in parts, said the people familiar with the deal, who asked not to be identified so they could speak candidly about negotiations.
