Goldman Sachs reportedly facing writedown on troubled $2.2B GreenSky deal

Goldman Sachs reportedly facing writedown on troubled $2.2B GreenSky deal

Goldman Sachs is likely to take a large writedown for its $2.2 billion acquisition of fintech lender GreenSky after seeking to divest the business it bought in 2021, CNBC reported on Friday, citing people with knowledge of the sale process.

One bidder said GreenSky’s loan origination platform is worth roughly $300 million, while another said it was worth closer to $500 million, according to the report.

CNBC added the bids for the platform, which facilitates home improvement loans to consumers, were coming in well below Goldman’s expectations.

Shares of Goldman closed down 1.5% on Friday.

“We’re pleased with the participation by bidders, we’re in the middle of the process and we’ll learn more as we go forward,” a Goldman spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Reuters, without revealing any details about the potential writedown it is expected to take.


Goldman CEO David Solomon
David Solomon’s Goldman acquired fintech lender GreenSky for $2.2 billion in 2021.
REUTERS

Goldman Sachs logo
CNBC added the bids for Greensky, which facilitates home improvement loans to consumers, were coming in well below Goldman’s expectations.
AP

David Solomon’s bank has been running a sale process for GreenSky, and may take a writedown on the $500 million of goodwill, or the premium it paid above the assets’ book value, Goldman President and Chief Operating Officer John Waldron told investors at a conference in June.

KKR, Apollo Global Management, Sixth Street Partners, Warburg Pincus and Synchrony Bank were among the asset managers and lenders involved in the first round of bids in June, the CNBC report said.