• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, September 14, 2009

Hoping to secure a bright future for its personal money management software, Intuit has agreed to buy rival Mint.com for $170 million in cash. Startup Mint rose quickly as a free alternative to Intuit's subscription-based Quicken service, with both companies claiming over one million active users of their online products.

"Intuit will gain another fast-growing consumer brand and a highly successful Software as a Service (SaaS) offering," said Brad Smith, Intuit CEO.

For Aaron Patzer, founder and CEO of the Mountain View, Calif.-based Mint, the prospect of scaling his product was an offer too attractive to pass up. "Joining Intuit enables us to bring our vision of helping consumers understand and do more with their money to millions of Intuit customers," he said.

Intuit intends to keep both the Mint.com and Quicken Online offerings, with each serving separate purposes. Mint.com will become the primary online personal finance management service that is offered directly to consumers by Intuit. Quicken Online will connect Quicken customers across desktop, online and mobile to deliver anytime-anywhere access. After the transaction is complete, Mint.com will become part of Intuit's Consumer Group, which includes both Quicken and TurboTax products.

Patzer will become GM of the Personal Finance group, reporting to Dan Maurer, SVP of Intuit's Consumer Group, and will be responsible for online, desktop and mobile consumer personal finance offerings. The transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter of calendar year 2009 and is subject to regulatory review and other customary closing conditions.

Launched in September 2007, Mint.com has quickly grown to track nearly $200 billion in transactions and $50 billion in assets, and has identified more than $300 million in potential savings for its users. Responding to the competition, Intuit dropped the $2.99-a-month subscription fee that it was charging for Quicken Online late last year.

To date, Mint has raised almost $32 million. Less than a month ago, it secured $14 million in a third round of funding.