SoftBank Inks $1 Billion Partnership Deal with Wirecard
SoftBank Inks $1 Billion Partnership Deal with Wirecard
Wirecard, a German internet technology and financial services company, has inked a strategic partnership deal that will see SoftBank Group Corp., a Japanese multinational conglomerate, invest over $1 dollars in the form of convertible bonds in the former.
The investment will enable Wirecard expand its digital payments products and service offerings, and launch operations in Asia, according to a press release on April 24, 2019.
A Formidable Alliance
As stated in its press release, Wirecard and SoftBank Group Corp., have found a binding agreement that will enable an affiliate of SoftBank to invest over one billion dollars in Wirecard through a convertible bond system.
For the unaware, a convertible bond is a kind of security that gives holders interest payments and can be converted into a specified number of common stock or equity shares of the issuer or cash of equal value.
Specifically, the deal requires Wirecard to issue convertible bonds with a five-year term exclusively to SoftBank, and the bond will be equal to 6,923,076 ordinary Wirecard shares (about 5.6 percent of common stock) at the rate of $144.75 per share.
The deal is subject to the approval of Wirecard’s shareholders and their decision will be made known later in June 2019 at the firm’s annual shareholders meeting.
With a presence in several jurisdictions including North America, Wirecard’s strategic partnership with SoftBank will enable the firm to expand operations to Bitcoin-friendly Japan and South Korea, while also making it possible for Wirecard to collaborate with the relevant SoftBank subsidiaries to offer digital payments, data analytics, artificial intelligence, and other fintech services.
Reportedly, both entities are also looking to collaboratively explore the digital lending ecosystem and develop new products that could meet clients’ needs.
Commenting on the partnership, Markus Braun, CEO of Wirecard, reiterated that SoftBank shares the same visions and aspirations with Wirecad as a global innovator.
In his words:
“In SoftBank, we have a partner that shares our passion for new technologies and zeal to champion the latest innovations, on a global scale. Through this potential alliance, we will expand our reach and products to the East Asian markets and strengthen our position in Asia.”
In related news, earlier in September 2018, BTCManager informed that Wirecard Bank, a subsidiary of Wirecard joined forces with Crypto.com, a Hong Kong-based blockchain firm to launch Asia’s first cryptocurrency Visa debit card.
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