Virus-protection firm buys MoneyLion in $1 billion deal

Gen Digital, a company behind well-known computer and identity theft protectors, is expanding into consumer loans with a $1 billion acquisition of the fintech MoneyLion. 

Prague-based Gen — which runs Norton, LifeLock and ReputationDefender — would buy MoneyLion’s platform of credit-building loans and early payday offering. Pairing Gen’s identity protection services with consumer lending would “power digital and financial freedom” for its customers, Gen CEO Vincent Pilette said in a news release Tuesday.

“By bringing MoneyLion into the Gen family, we’re not only helping people protect what they already have, we’re extending our capabilities to enable people to better manage and grow their financial wealth,” Pilette said. 

Dee Choubey, MoneyLion’s co-founder and CEO, said pairing the companies’ offerings would “create unmatched consumer value.”

The deal would also mean Gen inherits MoneyLion’s battles with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which in 2022 sued the fintech company. The CFPB claimed MoneyLion violated laws on interest charges for military members and said it trapped its customers into monthly subscriptions that were hard to cancel.

MoneyLion has defended itself against the CFPB’s lawsuit, saying its credit-building tools and membership offer value that’s “above and beyond what any of our competitors provide.” The agency may also take a different view on the lawsuit under President-elect Donald Trump’s still-pending nominee to run the CFPB. 

Under the deal, Gen would pay $82 a share in cash for MoneyLion, a value that is about $1 billion, the companies said. The boards of both firms have approved the deal, and they expect it to close in the first half of Gen’s fiscal year 2026. 

The deal would bring MoneyLion’s 18 million customers to Gen. In an investor presentation, Gen said that would help it reach consumers in “earlier stages of their financial lives.”

Gen’s share price fell 3% after the deal’s announcement, while MoneyLion shares jumped 13%. 

MoneyLion’s products include a checking account run in partnership with the bank Pathward Financial; an Instacash product that gives consumers early access to their paychecks; loans aimed at helping customers build or rebuild their credit histories; and an online investment account. 

The company also lets its checking account customers buy and sell select cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether.