Permira funds

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Permira funds to acquire German financial services firm GFKL

Permira, the international private equity firm, announced today that a company backed by the Permira funds has entered into an agreement to acquire GFKL Financial Services, a leading provider of receivables management services in Germany, for an undisclosed sum.

GFKL manages a receivables portfolio of €16.6 billion for clients from various industries, including banks, insurance companies, online retailers and telecommunications companies. GFKL is one of the very few service providers in the market that has a high-quality professional receivables management offering, servicing not only major corporations but also medium-sized companies. In 2014, GFKL increased sales to €244 million (2013: €196 million).

The Permira funds will support the GFKL management as it capitalises on the company’s huge growth potential in Germany and worldwide. An increasing number of companies are outsourcing their receivables management today, particularly small and medium-sized businesses which often lack the resources to do it themselves. The increasing importance of e-commerce also creates further growth opportunities for GFKL. Finally, the debt collection market in Germany is very fragmented which creates numerous consolidation opportunities.

“We see a lot of opportunities for GFKL to expand its activities in Germany and internationally and accelerate its growth. The Permira funds’ experience in investing in leading financial services and software companies globally and the strength of our international network make us ideal partners to support the company’s growth strategy in the years ahead,” says Philip Muelder, Partner in the Financial Services Team at Permira.

The transaction, which is subject to antitrust approvals, draws on the Permira funds’ deep understanding of the financial services industry, following investments in UK pension annuity company Just Retirement, Saga and The AA’s insurance businesses and leading UK wealth management company Tilney Bestinvest.

GFKL is being acquired from funds advised by Advent International. They acquired GFKL from a consortium of investors in December 2009. At the time, the company was a broad financial services conglomerate active in leasing, factoring, software and receivables management, which was undergoing restructuring. With Advent’s support GFKL significantly invested in sales, operations, finance and IT so as to enable the efficient and fast processing of claims settlement on behalf of clients.

“We look forward to entering our next chapter of growth together with Permira as a new, equally experienced and reliable partner”, says Kamyar Niroumand, Chief Executive Officer of GFKL. “We thank Advent International for its ongoing support in refocusing our group and in developing a highly competitive platform. We are very well positioned to further expand our business and continue to work together with our clients from various industries. In addition, we aim to play an active role in consolidating the market.”

Dr Christian Stoffel, Director at Advent International in Germany, adds: “GFKL has gone through an impressive transition and the current management team has done a great job in developing GFKL in partnership with Advent. We are convinced that GFKL is very well positioned to continue its successful expansion and gain further market share based on its highly professional approach and competitive platform. We wish GFKL with its management team and employees all the best in continuing the Company’s growth trajectory.”


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