A stronger more effective Baycorp

Baycorp, one of Australasia’s leading debt resolution specialists, yesterday announced that Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ: ECPG), a US-based international specialty finance company, has agreed to acquire a 50.25% stake in the business.

Baycorp’s current owners, Oceania Capital Partners and SAS Trustee Capital, will remain as shareholders and represented on the board of directors. Adding Encore as a shareholder is a strategic move in the company’s efforts to expand and grow throughout the region.  

Encore’s industry-leading predictive analytics and decision science expertise will further optimise performance and increase market share-- two of the key drivers for this deal.  As the world’s largest debt purchaser, Encore employs more than 5,600 people worldwide  and collected more than $1.6 billion (USD) in 2014 alone. The Baycorp partnership expands Encore’s global reach to 13 countries.  

Baycorp has the largest customer default database in the collection industry in Australasia and nearly 60 years’ experience in resolving debt across Australia and New Zealand.  Incorporating the added dimensions of Encore’s global best practice will strengthen Baycorp’s competitive edge and make its offering even more compelling to the market.

Grant Jorey, Group Chief Executive Officer and Group Managing Director of Baycorp (Australia/New Zealand) said, “Our vision is to be the leading debt resolution specialist and as such, we believe it’s important that our teams in Australia and New Zealand have access to global innovation and world’s best practice.  This alliance and Encore’s international networks provides just that.”

“We are excited to gain the benefits from Encore’s financial, strategic and operational expertise proven throughout the world, which will help accelerate Baycorp’s growth and market-leading position.”

“Through Baycorp, we now have access to two new markets that are showing strong growth and have promising opportunities for both consolidation and diversification,”  said Kenneth A. Vecchione, Encore’s Chief Executive Officer. “We are excited to support Baycorp in rapidly expanding the company’s growth strategy throughout Australia and New Zealand.”

Grant Jorey added, “There are strong synergies between our companies; we share the same values with regard to resolving debt respectfully and managing our clients reputations with care.

“Additionally, our focus is on people, businesses and their customers, and we continue to put a significant amount of work into making sure our processes, tools, values and staff are as skilled and focused as possible. Our new relationship with Encore makes our ability to deliver on those fronts, for both customers and clients alike, stronger than ever,” concluded Jorey.