Solarisbank and Contis Enter into Definitive Business Combination Agreement

Solarisbank AG and Contis Group Ltd yesterday announced that they have successfully brought their previously disclosed partnership to completion, entering into a definitive business combination agreement. Only six months after the signing of the agreement the partnership was cleared from all respective regulators including the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), Bank of Lithuania and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). With a valuation of EUR 1.4 billion Solarisbank and Contis expand their leadership in the European Banking-as-a-Service market.

The combined entity will be led by Solarisbank's CEO, Dr. Roland Folz. Founder and Executive Chairman/CEO of Contis, fintech veteran Peter Cox, has handed over the mantle and moves to his new role as Senior Group Advisor and shareholder. Lee Johnstone, CFO of Contis for almost 10 years, will lead the company as Managing Director within the group which now boasts over 700 employees at eight locations in Europe and in India. Combined net revenues in 2021 amounted to around EUR 100 million, representing over 90 percent year-on-year growth.

Going forward, Solarisbank and Contis aim to achieve sustainable revenue growth in the range of 40 to 60 percent. Moreover, Solarisbank is preparing to be IPO-ready from the third quarter of 2022 onwards. This includes key measures such as updating the organizational and management structure, changing to IFRS accounting standards, implementing new ESG standards and, above all, process optimization and investment in compliance and regulatory matters.