Clearpay enters Spain, France and Italy with €50m Pagantis acquisition

The Australian brand is heading to "Southern Europe and beyond”.

Clearpay, the Australian Bondi Mint-coloured pay-later brand, is planning a huge European expansion as part of a €50m takeover of local fintech Pagantis.

The deal will see Clearpay enter Spain, France and Italy and CEO Anthony Eisen said it would also “expedite the launch of Clearpay into key countries in Southern Europe and beyond”.

Under its terms Clearpay will pay Pagantis’s parent company NBQ a minimum of €50m for the fintech and fellow startup PMT Technology, with €5m immediately payable upon completion of the acquisition and the remainder payable three years later.

“Our momentum to date has given us the confidence to expedite our expansion into new global regions,” added Eisen. 

“Entering into such internationally relevant markets like the US and the UK and seeing our growth outpace what we experienced in our more mature Australian market, validates the appeal of our product on a global scale.”

Entering so many European countries with an aggressive acquisitive strategy puts Clearpay in increasing competition with pay-later provider Klarna, which has to-date been the dominant brand in Europe.

The CEO and founder of Pagantis, Rolf Cederström, will continue to lead the company and Clearpay’s new European team.

For now Clearpay will simply rebrand Pagantis’ lending products under its own brand, but once it secures regulatory approval Clearpay will start offer its own products across the new markets.