AnaCap buys $2.4 bln bad loan portfolio from UniCredit

AnaCap Financial Partners said Thursday it has bought a €1.9 billion (US$2.4 billion) portfolio of non-performing loans from UniCredit Group. The portfolio primarily consists of secured and unsecured bankruptcy and other enforcement claims, AnaCap said. London-based AnaCap, a specialist PE firm, invests in the European financial services sector.

PRESS RELEASE

AnaCap Financial Partners LLP (“AnaCap”), the specialist European financial services private equity firm, has announced the successful completion of the acquisition of €1.9 billion non-performing loans (“NPLs”) from Italian lender UniCredit Group. Under the terms of the agreement, funds advised by AnaCap will acquire the portfolio.

The portfolio primarily consists of secured and unsecured bankruptcy and other enforcement claims. A significant portion of the portfolio will continue to be serviced by UniCredit Credit Management Bank, with the management of a portion of claims migrated to third parties. Investments completed with UniCredit in 2013 also paved the way for this transaction, establishing a strong partnership between the seller and incumbent servicing partner.

The latest transaction is among the largest of its kind in Italy to date.

It is estimated that there is currently €800 billion of NPLs on the balance sheets of European banks – more than double the level seen in 20091 – which along with other non-core legacy assets continue to tie up capital and liquidity which may be more profitably allocated elsewhere. Further flows of new credit are vital to help encourage renewed lending and ease the pressure of illiquidity throughout the region.

AnaCap has now purchased over €4.5bn claims in Italian NPLs over the past two years along with a €550m performing portfolio of Italian salary guaranteed loans. The acquisition marks the continuation of a highly active period for AnaCap more broadly in Europe as well, including the recent acquisition of a €495 million portfolio of NPLs from Volksbank Romania.

Justin Sulger, a Partner at AnaCap, commented:

“We are delighted to have completed this acquisition, emphasising our commitment to helping rebuild the European financial services sector by establishing strong partnerships with institutions like UniCredit. We remain highly confident in our ability to continue to deploy capital in a wide range of credit opportunities across the continent, harnessing broad based expertise in financial services, including a deep understanding of consumer, SME and mortgage debt in local markets.”

For Immediate Release

16 October 2014

The parties were assisted by two law firms, Paul Hastings LLP, on the UniCredit SpA side and NCTM LLP on the AnaCap side.

1International Monetary Fund, Financial Stability Report, April 2014