Danish challenger bank Lunar has signed an agreement to buy all the shares of Norwegian digital bank Instabank as part of its Nordic expansion plans.

As per the agreement, Lunar will pay nearly $144m cash or $0.43 (NOK3.75) per share for Instabank’s acquisition.

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Founded in 2016, Instabank caters to over 60,000 customers through its operations in Germany, Finland and Norway. It offers both secured and unsecured loans and savings products in these markets.

The deal is aimed at increasing Lunar’s footprint in Norway and helping its foray into the Finnish market.

As per the exchange filing, the Instabank board of directors has unanimously decided to recommend the offer, which represents a premium of 56.3% based on last week’s closing price.

Lunar Founder and CEO Ken Villum Klausen said: “We are excited for the opportunity to join forces with Instabank and together challenge, innovate and build a stronger Nordic entity that will benefit our customers. We are impressed with the Instabank team and together we can lead the change the Nordic banking markets need.”

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Instabank co-founder and CEO Robert Berg: “We are excited over the opportunity to become part of Lunar and together challenge, innovate and build an even stronger Nordic entity. We are convinced that the joint companies will benefit our customers, employees and stakeholders. We are impressed with the Lunar team, products and customer solutions and their great achievements in both the tech and banking sector.”

The announcement comes close on the heels of Lunar’s €70m Series D-2 funding round from existing investors to further its Nordic expansion plans.