Patreon, which gives fans a way to pay their favorite creators on a recurring basis, is aiming to build out tools that will allow creators to sell merchandise more easily, through a takeover of startup Kit. 

Financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed. 

Patreon said its goal in integrating Kit is to invent a way to automate "merch for membership" so creators on its network won't have to deal with as much stuffing and mailing of their own packages. 

"Sending merch is laughably complicated today, but remains a key element to the success of membership programs," Patreon said in a blog post. 

Currently, Kit helps online personalities create collections of favorite products their followers can browse and buy.   

"We launched Kit a little over two years ago with a simple idea: Help people discover the products worth getting -- and create a new kind of experience where your creativity and expertise actually earn you money," Camille Hearst, co-founder and CEO of Kit, said in a statement. "We're elated to join Patreon and work on merch, and look forward to developing features that will give creators a simple way to deliver their products to their members."

Patreon said all the content links from Kit.com will continue to operate after the takeover and that revenue flows won't be disrupted. 

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