The SoftBank Group payment unit said the deal would make SP.LINKS its subsidiary and deepen scale in Japan's payment agency market amid cashless adoption, e-commerce growth and AI-driven change.
SB Payment Service, the core payment-business subsidiary under Japan's SoftBank Group, has agreed with a Blackstone fund to acquire shares in the parent company of SP.LINKS, formerly Sony Payment Services. Once completed, the transaction will turn SP.LINKS into an SB Payment Service subsidiary. The companies said they plan to combine SP.LINKS' experience in payment infrastructure and service capabilities with SB Payment Service's strengths in payment services and business foundations to bolster competitiveness in the payment agency business. The move is positioned as a response to market shifts tied to the spread of cashless payments, the expansion of e-commerce and the rise of AI and other digital technologies.