200 million euros must have been spent on the Penta takeover

The Berlin-based fintech was acquired by competitor Qonto in July. The purchase price was not known until now.

After the Berlin-based banking start-up Penta was acquired by French competitor Qonto in July, the purchase price was initially not disclosed. However, excerpts from the French commercial register are now expected to provide more insight into the deal. According to them, around 200 million euros are said to have been paid for the takeover, as Finance Forward and Finance Scene report.

According to the two financial portals, the Penta shareholders are said to have received Qonto shares worth 179 million euros. In addition, employees are also said to have been paid out, adding up to a sum of roughly 200 million euros.

Penta was bought out by Berlin-based company builder Finleap in 2019. The purchase price at the time was 400,000 euros. In a financing round in spring 2020, the commercial banking start-up had already been valued at 65 million euros. In the summer of last year, Penta was valued at 170 million euros in another financing round, as Finance Forward reports.

Since former Deutsche Bank digital chief Markus Pertlwieser became CEO in 2021, the fintech's customer base has doubled to 50,000 - despite discontinuing its free account. Now Pertlwieser is expected to help integrate Penta into Qonto, but will not take on a management role after that, according to Finance Forward. According to the report, he will only act as a "strategic advisor to management."

Qonto is looking to expand its presence in the German market with the acquisition of the startup, which develops banking solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The French business account provider for freelancers and SMEs raised €486 million in a funding round earlier this year.