Digital Garage Acquires Resona Kessai Service as an Equity-Method Associate and Completes the Establishment of a Joint CVC Fund with Resona HD for the Purpose of Development of Full-Fledged Capital and Business Alliance

– As an initiative based on the capital and business alliance agreement^*1 with Resona Holdings, Inc. (Resona HD), Digital Garage, Inc. (DG) acquires 20% of the total issued stock shares of Resona Kessai Service Co., Ltd. (RKS) as of April 1, 2024, making it an equity method associate of DG.

– DG Group and Resona Group also concluded a partnership agreement and established “DG Resona Ventures Fund I Investment Limited Partnership” (“DGRV”) as a corporate venture capital fund jointly managed by the two groups.

DG and Resona HD signed a capital and business alliance^*2 in November 2022. Intending to expand collaboration centered on the payment business and create a convenient, safe, and secure cashless society by accelerating the growth of both companies’ businesses, the two companies concluded a capital and business alliance in December 2023 to strengthen their alliance.

DG and Resona HD are pursuing the three goals of “strengthening the payment business,” “strengthening the next-generation Fintech business,” and “jointly driving startup investment and open innovation.” This decision to make RKS an equity-method associate of DG and the joint establishment of a CVC fund is being implemented as an initiative based on the capital and business alliance by the direction described above.

*1 Related News Release: “Digital Garage Reinforces Capital and Business Alliance with Resona Group” (December 22, 2023)
*2 Related News Release: “Digital Garage and Resona Holdings Form Capital and Business Alliance” (November 11, 2022)

【About Resona Kessai Service (RKS)】

RKS is a subsidiary of Resona HD, which is responsible for the payment business. RKS provides payment collection services with an annual transaction volume of 50 million cases and offers various financial solutions, including factoring and guarantees. To strengthen the payment business of both companies, DG will acquire RKS shares, mutually exchange personnel, and provide cutting-edge solutions from DG Financial Technology, Inc. (DGFT), a subsidiary of DG, to establish an integrated sales structure for payment services to the 500,000 corporate customers of Resona Group. As the first step, receiving OEM supply of “VeriTrans4G”^*3 from DGFT, Resona Group will begin offering an online payment service, “Resona PayResort+,” on April, 2024. Additionally, RKS will expand its next-generation Fintech business by providing its diverse financial services to DGFT’s clients.

*3: A comprehensive payment solution provided by DGFT. It supports the largest number of payment methods in the industry, from basic payment methods such as credit cards, convenience stores, and banks, to e-money, carrier payments, ID payments such as PayPay, and international payments such as Alipay, and is equipped with the highest level of security.

【“Resona PayResort+” service flow】

■Resona Kessai Service

Name: Resona Kessai Service Co., Ltd.
Head office address: 1-5-25 Kiba, Koto-ku, Tokyo
Representative: Masanori Hirokawa
Business: Operating a payment collection agency, factoring, and payment business, with assets of over 300 billion yen and more than 2,000 partners. The company offers a variety of financial solutions, including factoring and guarantees, in addition to payment collection services that handle 50 million cases annually.

【About CVC fund “DG Resona Ventures Fund I Investment Limited Partnership”】

DG Group and Resona Group established a CVC fund, “DG Resona Ventures Fund I Investment Limited Partnership” (DGRV), totaling 13 billion yen. In conjunction with this establishment, a portion of the operating investment securities held by DG Group’s investment subsidiary, DG Ventures, Inc., will be transferred.

DG Group and Resona HD focus on strengthening the businesses of both companies by leveraging advanced technologies and business models through investments in startups. DG Group aims to make a significant contribution in this aspect based on its experience in supporting numerous startups.

■Information of CVC fund

Name: DG Resona Ventures Fund I Investment Limited Partnership
Head office address: 15-1 Udagawa-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Investment amount: 13,000 million yen
Date of establishment: March 4, 2024

■Information of a new subsidiary of Resona HD

Name: Resona Innovation Partners Co., Ltd
Head office address: 1-5-25 Kiba, Koto-ku, Tokyo
Representative: Yushi Harada
Investment amount: 3.5 billion yen
Date of establishment: February 6, 2024
Business: Operating corporate venture capital
Major Shareholders and Shareholding Ratio: Resona HD 100%