Dec 12 (Reuters) - Upbound Group ( UPBD ) said on

Thursday it reached agreement on a $460 million cash-and-stock

deal for Brigit, a financial technology company that has been

backed by investors including the venture capital firms of actor

Ashton Kutcher and basketball star Kevin Durant.

The move, confirming a Reuters story from earlier on

Thursday, will help Upbound expand its product offerings to

credit-poor consumers and give it access to Brigit's data

modeling and technology platform, allowing it to create more

accurate customer financial profiles.

Brigit provides financial services including cash advances

and credit-profile building through its subscription-based

digital app. It currently has nearly 2 million monthly active

customers, according to a statement announcing the agreement.

Under terms of the deal, Upbound is paying $325 million at a

closing date forecast for the first quarter of 2025, of which

75% is in cash and the rest in stock. There are further cash

payments due over two years, some of which are dependent on

Brigit achieving performance targets.

Upbound Chief Executive Mitch Fadel told Reuters the Brigit

acquisition would immediately contribute to its business because

the app is already profitable, but also in the ways it can

interact with its customers. With only 10% overlap between the

two companies' customer bases, he said, there was significant

opportunity for cross-selling.

"When you have more products, you can create more lifetime

customers, especially when you are helping to build their credit

and access a greater array of financial products," Fadel said.

Plano, Texas-based Upbound, whose brands include

Rent-A-Center and Acima, offers consumers with low credit scores

help to buy products, including furniture, electronics, and

other home goods, through so-called lease-to-own agreements.

Brigit's founders, Zuben Mathews and Hamel Kothari, will

continue to run Brigit as a segment within Upbound, and Brigit

will retain its existing branding, the statement said.

"By combining forces with Upbound, we can accelerate our

impact and better serve the millions of Americans who have been

historically underserved by traditional financial institutions,"

Mathews said.