Dec. 15, 2021

When Facebook wants your name, it’s apparently willing to pay.

The social media giant, now Meta Platforms Inc., is paying Sioux Falls-based Meta Financial Group $60 million to acquire its trademark assets.

Meta Financial outlined the deal in a regulatory filing this week. It will assign the company’s names and trade names, including MetaBank, to Meta Platforms as well as trademark registrations and common law rights, domain names and social media accounts.

The agreement allows a year for phasing out the Meta name.

The actual deal is with a Delaware-based limited liability company, Beige Key LLC, but Meta Financial was aware of the relationship between Beige Key and Meta Platforms, a company spokesperson confirmed.

Meta Financial disclosed it plans to use some of the proceeds to implement a new corporate trademark and name. An estimate of rebranding costs is expected to be disclosed early next year. The rest of the $60 million will be used for general corporate purposes, it said.

“The deal underscores how valuable the Meta name has become for the technology giant, which is betting that its focus on the metaverse — shared digital spaces accessed via the internet through an array of devices — will pay off handsomely in the coming years,” said Reuters in a story that announced the deal.

Facebook said in October that its parent company had changed its name to Meta Platforms.