Press Releases

TOKYO, JAPAN, August 27, 2013 --- NTT DOCOMO, INC., a personalized mobile solutions provider for smarter living, announced today that it will acquire all shares of fine trade gmbh, the Austria-based e-commerce trading solution provider with payment options. The transaction is expected to be completed by late October.

Through the acquisition, DOCOMO will expand its portfolio of finance and payment platform businesses in Europe, currently focused on the digital content market, to include the online retail market for consumer goods.

The shares will be purchased from Three Little Birds AG and Schneider Holding Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft mbH, which hold 75% and 25% of fine trade's common stock, respectively. The purchase will be made through DOCOMO Deutschland GmbH (DDL), a wholly owned subsidiary of DOCOMO.

The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including clearance by the German Federal Cartel Office to which DDL applied for regulatory approval yesterday.

fine trade's multiple payment solutions enable European online retailers to manage varying level of credit risk through payment avenues suited to a range of customers. fine trade has operated in the black since its inception and has continued to expand its business.

"fine trade is a unique and innovative player in the worlds of e- and m-commerce," said Hiroyuki Sato, Chief Executive Officer of DDL. "I've long held the view that disruptive innovation is possible in the financial industry, much the same as mobile devices and the Internet revolutionized the telecom industry. DOCOMO, which has played a pioneering role in telecom, looks forward to playing a disruptively innovative role with fine trade, which shares our vision of becoming a Smart Life Partner."

"We share the vision to pursue smart innovations in the e- and m-commerce area with DDL," said Dr. Marcel Vaschauner, Chief Executive Officer and founder of fine trade. "Through the acquisition, we are equipped with strong backup and can create synergies at the same time. These synergies will enable fine trade to realize its vision to offer innovative solutions for e- and m-commerce faster than ever before, and to enhance payment services for retailers and customers. Now we are delighted to continue our growth strategy as a DDL group member."

• (Open a PDF file)(Attachment1) DOCOMO's Finance and Payment Platform Business in Europe (PDF format: 89KB)
• (Open a PDF file)(Attachment2) fine trade's Business Model (PDF format: 91KB)
• (Open a PDF file)(Attachment3) Overview of fine trade gmbh Acquisition  (PDF format: 64KB)