Envestnet exploring sale of Yodlee

Envestnet Inc. is exploring the sale of Yodlee, a data aggregation firm that it bought in 2015, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The software company, based in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, recently tapped an adviser to help solicit interest from potential buyers in Yodlee, for which it paid about $590 million, including debt. It couldn’t immediately be learned how much Envestnet is looking to obtain for the divestiture.

Yodlee provides “a real hard look at the daily financial lives of millions and millions of people, and then you understand their financial plans — where they’re going in the future,” Envestnet Chief Executive Bill Crager said in a November presentation. “When you connect those two things, you can create holistic, very informed, very intelligent advice.”

Crager said Yodlee also serves the bank and fintech markets, noting that the platform helps hedge funds understand the retail behavior of consumers. In another presentation a year earlier, Crager said Yodlee helps digest the spending and earning patterns of 40 million individuals. 

An Envestnet spokesman declined to comment.

The company’s shares have fallen 26% this year. They closed up 6% to $45.93 on Wednesday in New York trading, giving Envestnet a market value of $2.5 billion.

Raymond James analysts wrote in a November note to clients that “persistent deterioration in the Yodlee business” is a cause of real concern for Envestnet.  

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