Danish Lunar Bank plans $146M acquisition of Instabank

Lunar and Norwegian Instabank have entered into a transaction agreement on acquisitions and Instabank’s Board of Directors has unanimously decided to recommend the offer of 3.75 per share. 

“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, Instabank today serves more than 60,000 customers in Norway, Finland and Germany with both secured and unsecured loans and savings.

This acquisition will significantly increase Lunar’s footprint in Norway and additionally open the door to the Finnish market ahead of launching its full product offering.

“We are convinced that the joint companies will benefit our customers, employees and stakeholders,” Instabank co-Founder and CEO Robert Berg said in press release.

Lunar has raised a total of EUR 345 million of capital from investors and received a banking license in 2019. Lunar is established with an office in Oslo and has 70,000 customers in Norway.

“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.”

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.

Lunar, which is a cloud-based banking platform, was established in 2015 by founder and general manager Ken Villum Klausen. It clearly seeks to become the most important digital banking player in the Nordic region.