MUFG Bank, Ltd. to acquire MUIP investee Moneytree

MUFG Bank, Ltd. to acquire MUIP investee Moneytree

MUFG Innovation Partners Co., Ltd. (President and CEO: Nobutake Suzuki, “MUIP”), an investor in Moneytree, today announced that Moneytree has signed a basic agreement with MUFG Bank, Ltd. (President and CEO: Junichi Hanzawa, “MUFG Bank”) and its consolidated subsidiary WealthNavi Inc. (Representative Director and CEO: Kazuhisa Shibayama, “WealthNavi”) regarding the acquisition of Moneytree’s shares.

MUFG Bank, WealthNavi, and Moneytree have expressed their intention to proceed with discussions in accordance with the provisions of the basic agreement, with the aim of signing a final agreement and completing the transfer of shares of Moneytree.

Since its founding in 2012, Moneytree has connected with over 2,500 financial institutions and services through its secure and open financial data platform. Through its API service “Moneytree LINK,” it has provided data to approximately 120 diverse organizations, including financial institutions, ERP and accounting software companies, and fintech firms. Moneytree’s key strength lies in its ability to flexibly integrate with any app interface, along with its strong emphasis on security and privacy. These qualities have earned it a reputation as a highly reliable financial data platform, leading to growing adoption across a wide range of industries.

For individual users, Moneytree offers a personal finance management service called “Moneytree,” which automatically aggregates and manages information from bank accounts, credit cards, e-money, mileage/points programs, and securities accounts. The app uses AI to automatically categorize spending, making household budgeting effortless. It also includes features such as notifications for large expenditures or points nearing expiration.

Moneytree is one of the few companies capable of efficiently and accurately collecting complex data from various financial institutions, enabled by its advanced technology and high trust in its security measures to protect users’ asset information. For over 13 years since its establishment, the company has continued to maintain and deliver this platform. As a technology-driven firm that also emphasizes UI/UX design, Moneytree has played a key role in supporting the digital transformation of the financial industry and enabling the development of innovative services by other financial institutions and fintech companies.

MUIP invested in Moneytree in February 2019 through the MUFG Innovation Partners No.1 Investment Partnership (established in January 2019) and has supported collaboration discussions between Moneytree and various business units within MUFG. Guided by its purpose “committed to empowering a brighter future”, MUFG aims to provide their users with reliable financial services that are both easily understandable and accessible throughout their lives.   Following the completion of this capital restructuring, MUFG intends to launch a new concept digital bank, expand its customer base, and collaborate in the corporate domain to deliver high value-added financial services.

This marks the first case in which an MUIP portfolio company has been acquired by a member company of the MUFG Group. For a corporate venture capital, an acquisition of a portfolio company by the parent company represents an ideal success case. Moving forward, MUIP intends to continue pursuing a diverse range of exit strategies - not only IPOs but also acquisitions and other options - aimed at maximizing strategic synergies between portfolio companies and MUFG.

Moneytree Overview