French Neobank Unicorn Qonto in Advanced Talks to Buy Berlin-Based Neobank Penta

This blog post first appeared first on old medium publication (https://medium.com/startuprad-io), and was moved to this blog with the relaunch of our website in summer 2024.

This article is part of our coverage of Scaleup Founder Interviews from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Executive Summary

• This blog post first appeared first on old medium publication (https://medium.

• Update: Penta and Qonto made their deal public on July 22nd, 2022.

• Paris-based Qonto just talked exclusively about their market entry in Germany with us.

• Penta was the first neobank in Germany focusing on SMEs .

• News emerged in February 2022 that Penta was on the hunt for more funding (assuming Series C) with a 500 mn US$ valuation target.

Paris via Pixabay

New Blog

French Neobank Unicorn Qonto in Advanced Talks to Buy Berlin-Based Neobank Penta Startuprad.io brings you independent coverage of the key developments shaping the startup and venture capital landscape across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

This blog post first appeared first on old medium publication (https://medium.com/startuprad-io), and was moved to this blog with the relaunch of our website in summer 2024.

Update: Penta and Qonto made their deal public on July 22nd, 2022.

Paris-based Qonto just talked exclusively about their market entry in Germany with us. We also covered Penta extensively from their very first moments on. Now news emerged (by a usually well-informed German fintech blog) that Qonto is in talks to buy Penta and the deal could close in a few days.

Penta was the first neobank in Germany focusing on SMEs . We covered them extensively in the past (especially interviewing Luka), and we may have had their first English interview ever. They got acquired by Berlin-based fintech incubator finleap in April 2019. Until then Penta had raised 82,8 m US$ from 13 Investors in funding (to Series B). finleap has also been an investor in their Series B, before they bought them.

News emerged in February 2022 that Penta was on the hunt for more funding (assuming Series C) with a 500 mn US$ valuation target. The private and public markets across the world have turned spectacularly since. Even unicorns like Solarisbank realized this and are now considering (as well) an outright sale, even to PE funds. Therefore it is not surprising that Penta took a similar route to evaluate all options. After Qonto announced their 480+ M Euros Series D in January, with expansion plans in Germany, it was a no-brainer for Penta to talk to them.

In our exclusive interview with Qonto’s Head of Germany, we already heard a lot of similar positions on client-centric SME and startup banking.

It is the personal opinion of the author that both companies could be a great fit.

You can learn more about Penta and Qonto in our interviews below.

First Penta Interview

Second Penta Interview

More Coverage

Note the publication time stamps are all from the migration to a new hoster in January 2019

medium.com

Key Takeaways

• Penta was the first neobank in Germany focusing on SMEs .

• This article covers a significant development in the DACH startup and venture capital ecosystem.

• The DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) continues to be one of Europe's most dynamic startup markets.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the key facts about French Neobank Unicorn Qonto Advanced?

This blog post first appeared first on old medium publication (https://medium.com/startuprad-io), and was moved to this blog with the relaunch of our website in summer 2024.

How does this affect the German startup ecosystem?

Paris-based Qonto just talked exclusively about their market entry in Germany with us. We also covered Penta extensively from their very first moments on.

What are the latest startup funding trends in the DACH region?

Startuprad.io tracks venture capital and startup funding across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Explore our pillar coverage pages for the latest data.

About the Host

Joern "Joe" Menninger is the host of the Startuprad.io podcast and covers founders, investors, and policy developments across the DACH startup ecosystem. Through more than 1,300 interviews and nearly a decade of reporting, he documents the evolution of the European startup landscape. Follow Joern on LinkedIn.