Challenger Bank Lunar Plans $146M Acquisition of Instabank

Challenger bank Lunar is acquiring digital bank Instabank for 132 million euros (about $146 million), a move that will increase Lunar’s reach in Norway and open the door to the market in Finland, according to a Tuesday (March 29) blog post.

“We are excited for the opportunity to join forces with Instabank and together challenge, innovate and build a stronger Nordic entity that will benefit our customers,” said Lunar CEO and Founder Ken Villum Klausen in a press release. “We are impressed with the Instabank team and together we can lead the change the Nordic banking markets need.”

Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Oslo, Norway, Instabank serves over 60,000 people in Norway, Finland and Germany with both secured and unsecured loans and savings, the blog post stated.

“We are convinced that the joint companies will benefit our customers, employees and stakeholders,” Instabank co-Founder and CEO Robert Berg said in the press release. “We are impressed with the Lunar team, products and customer solutions and their great achievements in both the tech and banking sector. Teamed together we will lead the transformation of the Nordic banking markets, both for private and business customers, and offer banking services in a new and better way — the Lunar way.”

Headquartered in Denmark and launched in 2015, Lunar is a mobile app-based FinTech offering a range of financial services including insurance, savings, budgets, loans and investments. The digital bank serves more than 450,000 consumers and businesses throughout the Nordic region, according to the release.

“The Board of Directors is of the opinion that the Lunar offer reflects the strong financial performance, continued growth and solid position of Instabank, and represents an attractive valuation for the shareholders,” said Instabank Board of Directors Chair Cathrin Nylander in the release.

Earlier this month, Klausen told PYMNTS in an interview that the Nordic region presents “massive opportunities” in payments, banking and cryptocurrency, and Lunar plans to compete with incumbent banks that dominate the region’s online and mobile banking space.

Read more: Lunar Uses Digital to Dislodge Nordic Incumbents and Gain Banking Market Share