NextPoint Financial, which owns the Liberty Tax business, said this month it probably “substantially” overpaid for its purchase of LoanMe. LoanMe was purchased on July 2 for about $102 million.
The purchase price was comprised by $18 million in cash, $49 million in equity and the rest the assumption of LoanMe net debt. LoanMe offers personal, business and home loans ranging from $600 to $30,000. NextPoint's plan is cross sell LoanMe and Liberty Tax services.
According the NextPoint statement, a preliminary review determined some items used in deriving adjusted corporate EBITDA were incorrectly calculated. The EBITDA figures were utilized in calculating the purchase price.
NextPoint will undertake impairment testing on goodwill and other intangibles. The board of directors plans to review the causes of the miscalculation and determine if there is any recourse available.
Bob Scott has provided information to the tax and accounting community since 1991, first as technology editor of Accounting Today, and from 1997 through 2009 as editor of its sister publication, Accounting Technology. He is known throughout the industry for his depth of knowledge and for his high journalistic standards. Scott has made frequent appearances as a speaker, moderator and panelist and events serving tax and accounting professionals. He has a strong background in computer journalism as an editor with two former trade publications, Computer+Software News and MIS Week and spent several years with weekly and daily newspapers in Morris County New Jersey prior to that. A graduate of Indiana University with a degree in journalism, Bob is a native of Madison, Ind