Goldman will pay roughly $12 a share in stock for GreenSky, which arranges loans for big one-time purchases like construction projects or cosmetic surgery. It works with thousands of merchants ranging from Home Depot to independent doctors and dentists, and pitches its loans as cheaper and more responsible alternatives to credit cards.
“Our goal is to build a real banking platform of the future,” Goldman Chief Executive David Solomon said in an interview. “This moves us along in that journey.”