Facebook says it’s behind the £45m deal for Meta name rights
Meta, the owner of social media network Facebook, is behind a $60m (£45m) deal to acquire the trademark assets of U.S. regional bank Meta Financial Group, spokespeople for the companies said this evening.
The deal demonstrates how valuable the Meta name has become for the technology giant, which is betting that its focus on the metaverse – virtual reality spaces accessed via the internet through an array of gadgets – will pay off handsomely in the coming years, as reported in a Reuters exclusive.
Meta Financial had said in regulatory filing on Monday that a Delaware company called Beige Key agreed to acquire the worldwide rights to its company names for $60m in cash. It did not disclose who the owner of Beige Key was.
“Beige Key is affiliated with us and we have acquired these trademark assets,” a Meta spokesperson said. A Meta Financial spokesperson also confirmed Meta’s involvement.
It comes after Facebook said in October that it had changed its name to Meta to move away from its previous image.
Meta Financial’s shares were trading 1.3 per cent lower in midday trading, giving it a market cap of around $1.75bn (£1.32bn). Meta Platforms was up 1.3 per cent, valuing it at $929bn (£703bn).