Expanding its business into other areas, Swedish furniture giant IKEA has entered the banking space by acquiring a 49% stake in Ikano Bank.
This part-ownership will boost the potential of the existing relationship between?Ingka, the group name of IKEA, and Ikano Bank and provide smoother financial services to customers online or in-store. For Ikano Bank, it will mean more customers switching to digital banking.
Ingka, which operates 378 IKEA stores and its e-commerce platform in 31 countries, added that it might acquire the remaining shares later, with the aim to maximise its reach to more customers as well as ??help make IKEA more affordable, accessible and sustainable,it said in a statement.
IKEA parent company, Ingka Group, and Ikano Bank have a few commonalities such as sharing the same founder the Kamprad family. Ikano was originally part of IKEA, but was made into an independent firm in 1988. To add on, the bank has been a long-standing financial service provider for IKEA Retail across various countries.
While the transaction has been agreed between both the parties, it is now subject to regulatory approvals from the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority Finansinspektionen and other competition authorities. Only after the approval and management suitability assessment, will representatives from Ingka Group will join the Board of Ikano Bank.
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