SoftBank invests €900m in Wirecard for APAC push
Japan’s tech giant SoftBank says it will invest €900 million in Wirecard, the German digital payments company. The Japanese firm has signed a convertible bond mechanism, which will see it buying five-year Wirecard bonds that can convert into an equity stake.
Under the terms of the agreement, the bonds will convert into a 5.6% stake in Wirecard at a price of €130 a share, Wirecard says. Shares in Wirecard went up around 9% to €134 following the announcement.
Wirecard added that the partnership with SoftBank would help it to expand further into Asian markets, including Japan and South Korea, and see the companies collaborate on data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI).
The intended issuance of convertible bonds, under exclusion of subscription rights, is subject to the approval of Wirecard’s Annual Shareholders meeting to be held on 18 June 2019.
In connection with the investment, the parties have also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to support the German’s firm expansion across Japan and South Korea, while developing digital payments, data and AI.
Wirecard has been forced to postpone the release of its annual reports due to accounting issues in Asia.
Credit Suisse advised SoftBank on the planned investment.
