Société Générale sells neobank Shine to Danish fintech Ageras
Société Générale is to sell Shine, a freelancer and small business-focused neobank, to Danish fintech Ageras.
Société Générale sells neobank Shine to Ageras
The French banking giant first acquired a majority stake in Shine in 2020 as part of a drive to establish itself in the neobanking market, powering its remit through its Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) subsidiary Treezor.
In the four years since, it claims to have doubled Shine’s customer and employee headcount while also tripling revenues.
However, it emerged in January this year that the group was seeking a buyer for Shine, as first reported by Les Echos, amid an ongoing downturn in France’s retail and online banking market.
Investcorp-backed Ageras’ purchase of the neobank, for an undisclosed sum, follows through on its promise made last week to execute “1-2 major acquisitions before a potential IPO in 2026“.
The deal will see all of Shine’s banking products, including business accounts, debit cards and a co-pilot solution, merge with Ageras’ accounting, banking and business software solutions, while also expanding its customer count by over 100,000.
Describing the acquisition as “our largest and most significant”, Rico Andersen, CEO of Ageras, says the combination will “enable us to deliver a complete offering of key financial solutions in France”, while also “moving us closer to achieving our ambition of building the ultimate financial hub for small businesses across Europe”.
Ageras’ eighth acquisition remains subject to applicable social procedures, usual suspensive conditions, and the approval of the competent financial and regulatory authorities, and is expected to close “in the first half of 2025”.
