Cembra to acquire Byjuno to create a leading provider of invoice payment solutions in Switzerland

Cembra has signed a share-purchase agreement to buy Byjuno AG and its sister company Intrum Finance Services AG from Intrum AG. Byjuno is a major provider of invoice payment solutions in Switzerland with a billing volume of CHF 408 million in 2021 and financing receivables of CHF 39 million as per end of 2021. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2022 subject to customary closing conditions.

Adding profitable growth to the buy now pay later business

With this acquisition, Cembra is taking another step to deliver on its strategy of expanding its embedded finance solutions, with payment and financing options directly integrated into partner and customer journeys. Payment by invoice is the most popular remote selling payment form in Switzerland, with billing solutions and buy now pay later (BNPL) services set to become more important at both traditional points of sale and online shops. Cembra continues to expect double-digit growth in this market in Switzerland.

Creating a leading provider for invoice payment solutions

Cembra intends to combine Byjuno with its subsidiary Swissbilling to create a leading provider of invoice payment solutions with the aim to establish compelling solutions for online and point-of-sale checkouts for pay-by-invoice services in Switzerland. Offerings from both companies to about 1,200 merchants in Switzerland will be maintained, and customers will benefit from a broader range of products and services. Christian Stolz, CEO of Byjuno, will be appointed CEO of the combined business and work in tandem with Jean-Christophe Calmes, CEO of Swissbilling, who will act as Deputy CEO. As part of the transaction, Cembra and Intrum AG also agreed on a cooperation in BNPL debt collection activities and credit information.

Positive net income contribution from 2023 on

The transaction will accelerate Cembra’s strategy execution and target achievement in the BNPL business. Excluding one-off integration costs of CHF 4-5 million to be incurred over 2022 and 2023, Cembra expects annual incremental net income of at least CHF 6 million from 2023 on, and to achieve its CHF 10-20 million net income target for the BNPL business by 2026 at the latest. The purchase price amounts to CHF 60 million, and the transaction is expected to have an impact of about 1.0 percentage point on the Group's capital ratio at closing. Including the already announced impact of the CECL implementation, the Tier 1 capital ratio is expected to be slightly above the 17% mid-term target at 31 December 2022.

CEO Holger Laubenthal commented: “This transaction is an important step in delivering on our strategy and enhancing our embedded finance solutions. By bringing Swissbilling and Byjuno together, we will create a leading platform for billing solutions and pave the way to accelerate growth across our Embedded Finance product suite and BNPL. Together we can offer our partners a broader range of products and services, and consumers will benefit from even simpler and more flexible payment options. Our joint ambition will be to create compelling solutions for online and point-of-sale checkouts for pay-by- invoice services in Switzerland.”

Trading update: Positive business performance continues in the third quarter

Cembra’s positive business performance continued in the third quarter of 2022. Cembra expects Q3 net revenues to increase by 3% year on year, with commission and fee income increasing by about 10%. In the credit card business, Cembra expects revenues to increase 8% year on year in Q3, supported by the successful rollout of the new credit card range Certo! since July 2022.


Contact:
Carolin Schulze, Senior Communications Specialist
+41 44 439 85 23; media@cembra.ch

Investors Marcus Händel, Head Investor Relations & Sustainability
+41 44 439 85 72; investor.relations@cembra.ch

--- END press release Cembra to acquire Byjuno to create a leading provider of invoice payment solutions in Switzerland ---

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  Cembra übernimmt Byjuno, um einen führenden Anbieter für Rechnungskauflösungen in der Schweiz zu schaffen (news article in german on swiss-press.com)