DGAP-News: Aareal Bank acquires payment solutions provider CollectAI from Otto Group

Aareal Bank acquires payment solutions provider CollectAI from Otto Group

- Banking & Digital Solutions segment to expand its product portfolio

- Lars Ernst, Managing Director, Banking & Digital Solutions: "CollectAI supplements the existing offers of our AEPP payments platform. On top of this, it provides us with the opportunity of exploring new markets and client groups."

Wiesbaden, 24 March 2022 - Aareal Bank Group has acquired all shares in Collect Artificial Intelligence GmbH ("CollectAI"), a payment solutions provider offering AI-based intelligent invoicing and dunning processes, from Otto Group. With this acquisition, Aareal Bank Group is expanding its range of products and services in the Banking & Digital Solutions segment, adding end-customer communications functionality as well as AI-based solutions for interactive invoices and intelligent dunning processes.

"CollectAI supplements the existing offers of our AEPP payments platform. On top of this, it provides us with the opportunity of exploring new markets and client groups, and for further growth with existing clients from the housing sector and related industries", said Lars Ernst, Managing Director, Banking & Digital Solutions at Aareal Bank AG.

With its AI-based software, CollectAI already holds a strong position in the online trading, energy utility as well as bank and insurance sectors. CollectAI helps its customers to lower process costs whilst enhancing success rates in the dunning process. For instance, within the framework of an exclusive partnership with Payment Entwicklungsgesellschaft of Otto Group (PEG), Otto Group's payments development entity, the Hamburg-based Fintech will take over payments-related communications with end customers of the Otto Marketplace for the e-commerce platform's 2,500 partners. CollectAI provides end-customers with an easy-to-use digital payment experience.

This service offer is also highly attractive for Aareal Bank's existing clients, including those from the housing industry. Moreover, CollectAI's strong position opens up further potential for cooperation with related industries, also on an international scale.

The acquisition of CollectAI shows that the "Aareal Next Level" strategy programme is being consistently implemented in the Banking & Digital Solutions segment, supporting the Group's growth plans in its core payment services offering as well as higher non-interest-related commission income.

The parties have agreed not to disclose the terms of the acquisition.

For further details on the product range of the Banking & Digital Solutions segment, please refer to: https://www.aareal-bank.com/en/products-consulting-and-solutions

Contacts

Oliver Tross
Phone: +49 611 348-2183
Mobile: +49 175 4357559
oliver.tross@aareal-bank.com

Christian Feldbrügge
Phone: +49 611 348-2280
Mobile: +49 171 8667919
christian.feldbruegge@aareal-bank.com

About Aareal Bank Group
Aareal Bank Group, headquartered in Wiesbaden, is a leading international property specialist. It provides smart financings, software products, and digital solutions for the property sector and related industries, and is present across three continents: Europe, North America and Asia/Pacific. Aareal Bank Group's business strategy focuses on sustainable business success, with environmental, social and governance aspects as an integral part of this strategy. Aareal Bank AG, whose shares are included in Deutsche Börse's SDAX index, is the Group's parent entity. It manages the various entities organised in the Group's business segments: Structured Property Financing, Banking & Digital Solutions, and Aareon. The Structured Property Financing segment encompasses all of Aareal Bank Group's property financing and funding activities. Here, the Bank supports its clients in making large-volume commercial property investments. The investment properties mostly comprise office buildings, hotels, shopping centres, logistics and residential property, as well as student apartments. In the Banking & Digital Solutions segment, Aareal Bank Group supports businesses from the housing, property management and energy industries as a digitalisation partner - combining extensive advisory services and product solutions with traditional corporate banking services and deposit-taking. Its subsidiary Aareon, the leading supplier of ERP software and digital solutions for the European property sector and their partners, represents the third business segment. Aareon is digitalising the property industry by offering user-oriented software solutions that simplify and automate processes, support sustainable and energy-efficient operations, and interconnect all process participants.

About CollectAI
Hamburg-based Fintech CollectAI offers an intelligent payments software platform for interactive invoices and intelligent dunning. Leveraging artificial intelligence, CollectAI combines digital communications channels with manifold payment methods - either on a modular basis or in a comprehensive solution. The smart technology has proven to be effective in realising outstanding items at low cost. Beyond this, CollectAI optimises the customer journey for banks, energy suppliers, insurers, telecommunications, e-commerce and mobility businesses through industry-specific, innovative features. CollectAI was founded in 2016, as a subsidiary of Otto Group, a globally active group of retailers and retail-related service providers.
More information is available on www.collect.ai

Media contact:
Christin Martens, +49 163 5413164, christin.martens@collect.ai

About Otto Group
Founded in Germany in 1949, the Otto Group today is a globally active retail and services group with around 50,000 employees in 30 major company groups and does business in over 30 countries in Europe, North and South America, and Asia. Its business activities are grouped into three segments: Multichannel Retail, Financial Services, and Service. In the 2020/21 financial year (to 28 February), the Otto Group generated revenues of 15.6 billion euros. With online revenues of approximately 9.9 billion euros, the Otto Group is one of the world's largest online retailers. The Group's particular strength is its broad market presence and differentiated product and service offers to diverse customer target groups in almost all of the world's relevant economic regions. Numerous strategic partnerships and joint ventures provide the Otto Group with excellent opportunities to transfer know-how and leverage areas of synergy potential. Group companies demonstrate a high degree of corporate responsibility and willingness to collaborate with one another; at the same time this guarantees flexibility, customer proximity and optimum target-group appeal in their respective national markets.

More information is available on www.ottogroup.com/en

Media contact:
Martin Zander, +49 40 6461-2820, martin.zander@ottogroup.com