In my previous story on Som Seif, I mentioned in passing they had an SME lending division called Driven (formerly Thinking Capital). It claims $1B-$1.5B in financing since 2006. So I figured, it can't be that big in the context of Purpose's last financing at a valuation of $535m. But since private equity firm TorQuest is involved, it can't be too small either. I now see that The Globe's Clare O'Hara reported from industry sources that Purpose paid over $200m for the acquisition in 2018. The deal involved cash and equity. Paying $200m could have been a mistake. The founder and CEO of Thinking Capital was gone within 18 months. Of the 6 people named as senior execs of Driven in 2022 at the time of its rebrand, none are with the company today! They even went to the trouble of having illustrations made...but all six are gone!
