Allianz considering sale of its 5% stake in N26 at a discount, FT reports

A chunk of equity in German neobank N26 is reportedly up for sale at a 66 per cent discount from when the company was last valued.

Allianz X, the VC arm of financial services giant Allianz, is said to be weighing up the sale of its roughly 5 per cent stake in N26 albeit at a price that would value the neobank at just $3bn.

The news was first reported on Tuesday evening by the Financial Times and corroborated by Reuters, with an Allianz spokesperson telling the news agency that “undertaking discussions does not necessarily mean acting on or consummating these discussions.”

N26 last raised funding in 2021 when it secured a $900m Series E funding round at a valuation of $9bn, which would imply a sharp drop in the valuation just two years on.

As Allianz X invested as part of N26’sSeries C in 2018, the German financial services group is still expected to see a return of multiple what it invested.

In a statement to the press, N26 said: "N26 is not currently aware of any ongoing secondary sales from existing investors, including from Allianz X, who came on board as lead investors in our Series C round.”

N26 has had a bumpy few years, with German regulator Bafin in 2021 limiting N26’s customer growth and issue fines with similar actions taken by the Bank of Italy amid concerns over N26’s AML controls.

The neobank subsequently withdrew from the US to focus on its core European markets.