[Exclusive] NHN lends $10 million to British payment company 'Bango'

Bango plans to enter work to acquire NTT DoCoMo's global payment business

Bango announced on the 30th (local time) that it had received a loan offer worth $10 million (about 13.5 billion won) from NHN, a strategic partner. NHN's loan is offered with a three-year maturity, and Bangor is discussing whether to accept the loan offer. NHN's loan proposal was proposed to support the consolidation work that Bango will proceed.

Bango announced that it had decided to acquire 'Docomo Digital', a global payment business unit of Japanese telecommunication company NTT DoCoMo, announcing the news of NHN's loan proposal. Bango invested 4 million euros (about 5.4 billion won) in cash to acquire DoCoMo Digital.

Through the acquisition of DoCoMo Digital, Bango expects to expand its influence in the Asian market while securing competitiveness in the digital payment sector in Japan. With this acquisition, Bango has secured additional access routes to Google Play and Amazon, and expanded partnerships with Vodafone, Singtel, and Softbank, as well as securing additional communication partners such as Telefonica, America Mobile, and Deutsche Telekom.

According to the acquisition agreement, Bango is expected to use significant funds for up to 18 months in the process of transferring the existing DoCoMo Digital's billing service to its platform. He added that once the consolidation work is completed, a significant improvement in profitability is expected.

If Bango accepts NHN's proposal, it will be able to secure sufficient liquidity during the integration process. Bango said it plans to inject additional funds to accelerate restructuring and consolidation work if it receives support from NHN.

“The acquisition of DoCoMo Digital strengthens our position as a global leader in data-driven commerce,” said a Bangor official. said.

Meanwhile, Bango, a digital payment service provider based in Cambridge, UK, is also strengthening its marketing division by analyzing consumer patterns through data obtained during the payment process.

NHN made its first investment in Bango in April 2020 and secured a 5% stake, and then made additional equity investments twice in 2020, five times in 2021, and one additional equity investment in 2022. NHN currently owns 10,455,561 shares of Bango, with a stake of 13.73%. Along with the equity investment, NHN also established a European joint venture called Bango and New Deep, and invested 8 million dollars (about 10.8 billion won) in Audience, a platform under Bango.