German fintech Solaris says it's “close to finalising an agreement" amid reports that the unicorn is urgently seeking €100m by the start of December or will seek out a buyer should it fail to do so.
Solaris, which offers white-label banking services and is known as a BaaS (Banking-as-a-Service) provider, is one of Germany’s most high-profile fintechs.
However, the troubled fintech recently made swingeing job cuts, axing around 240 jobs in its 700-stong workforce, as it closed major parts of its EMI (Electronic Money Institution) business.
The Berlin-based fintech, which has raised around €500m in total, is said to be valued at around €1.6bn.
Solaris undertook a €96m Series F fundraise in March this year (which also included a financial guarantee of up to €100m).
But is now urgently seeking fresh funding, according to a report in German publication Finance Forward.
According to the report, a new funding round of between €100m and $150m is expected to be rubberstamped in the coming days but Solaris is also exploring a possible sale of the company should the funding fail.
The fundraising is thought to likely come from existing investors. Existing investors in Solaris, which is headed up by CEO Carsten Höltkemeyer (pictured), include BBVA, finleap, Lakestar, yabeo, SBI, Decisive and HV Capital.
Among the interested buyers are thought to be SBI, the Japanese investor which is a shareholder in Solaris, as well as Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas also casting an eye over Solaris.
According to reports in the German media, the urgency of the funding round relates to accounting issues and a delay in sales coming in.
The value of the write-off of its UK EMI business, major parts of which it is discontinuing, is more than expected, while sales relating to its flagship ADAC contract are later than expected, sources say.
Solaris is also in dispute with Binance, a former client, after Binance terminated an agreement for Solaris to provide Visa debit cards.
Solaris filed a lawsuit against Binance, saying the crypto exchange owes it €144 million in minimum guaranteed fees until November 2026.
Solaris said: "We don't comment on speculation, but we can confirm that we are close to finalising an agreement."
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