SEB reveals that it’s entering into a strategic cooperation with tech firm Leneo, acquiring a part ownership stake through SEB Venture Capital.
The company has “developed a platform that helps companies to switch to new business models, where instead of selling products they sell a service, where the product is included together with complementary services.”
Andreas Fredriksson, Head of Corporate Banking in the Large Corporates & Financial Institutions division, said:
“With this partnership we are creating an ecosystem that helps companies future-proof their business models and facilitates for us as a bank to develop new types of financial solutions that support the transformation.”
Leneo is a Danish company that “specializes in Asset-as-a-Service (AaaS), whereby manufacturing companies in the future are expected to fully or gradually shift from selling machinery, equipment or other products to instead offer them as a service (the product including related services) to their end customers and charging for how they are used and what value they create.”
The company has “developed a technical platform that supports this.”
This trend responds to “a clear desire from many end customers, who want to move from capital expenditure to operating expense.”
Other important drivers “include the increased connectivity of machines and other products, which makes it possible to charge for their usage in detailed way, and the shift to a circular economy, where manufacturers are seeking to gain control over their products throughout their entire life cycle until they can be recycled.”
The cooperation “means that both SEB and Leneo will be able to refer customers to each other but does not entail any exclusivity.”
Peter Stuhr, CEO of Leneo, said:
“Through the collaboration with SEB, we can increase our footprint in the market and get in touch with SEB’s network of industrial customers, while we can refer our customers to a financial player, who has the expertise and capacity to advise companies on the transition to new business models.”
Fredrik Ljungblad, SEB Venture Capital Fintech, added:
“End customers want a higher degree of financial flexibility by going from fixed asset ownership, with all that entails, to more the problem-free operations offered by a usage-based model. We are convinced that this trend will accelerate and see that Leneo’s platform and expertise in the area are well-suited to be able to cover the segment in a very good way, which makes this investment extra exciting over the long term.”