• College Finance Company, a subsidiary of Candidly, has been acquired by NerdWallet, Inc.
• College Finance Company operates a private student loan marketplace that connects borrowers with loan offers from major lenders.
• Mesirow acted as the exclusive financial advisor on this transaction, highlighting the firm’s continued success in the Technology & Services sector.

CHICAGO, March 12, 2026 – Mesirow, an independent, employee-owned financial services firm, today announced it acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Candidly on the sale of its subsidiary, College Finance Company LLC (“College Finance”), to NerdWallet, Inc.

Founded in 2020 and based in Marblehead, Massachusetts, College Finance is the leading marketplace to connect borrowers with private student loan offers from major lenders. The Company utilizes its proprietary technology platform via direct to consumer and affiliate marketing strategies to match borrowers with lenders. College Finance leverages its long-term, proprietary relationships with major lenders to provide borrowers with access to clear and relevant data, and drive growth in the private student loan market.

“We were pleased to advise Candidly on this transaction, which represents a significant milestone in the evolution of the College Finance platform,” said Bob Lockwood, Managing Director at Mesirow Investment Banking. “I have had the opportunity to work with the executive team at College Finance across multiple transactions, tracking their entrepreneurial successes over many years.”

“This transaction marks an exciting new chapter for College Finance and a meaningful step forward in advancing our mission to simplify the college funding journey for families,” said Kevin Walker, President & Co-Founder of College Finance. “With Mesirow’s guidance throughout the process, we found a partner that shares our long-term vision and commitment to innovation in education finance.”

“Candidly customers and partners will continue to have full, uninterrupted access to the College Finance marketplace and everything it offers," said Laurel Taylor, Founder and CEO of Candidly. "For Candidly, this sale is an accelerant — sharpening our focus on the multi-agentic AI platform that we believe will define how personalized financial guidance is delivered at scale.”
    
The sale of College Finance marks another successful Technology & Services transaction completed by Mesirow Investment Banking. In recent years, the firm has completed more than 350 transactions across its verticals. With deep sector expertise, long-standing client relationships, and a commitment to delivering tailored solutions, Mesirow continues to build a proven track record of highly successful transactions.