Permira picks up GFKL from Advent in €600m SBO

José Rojo
19 May 2015

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Permira has acquired a majority stake in German financial services firm GFKL from Advent International in a deal valuing the company at €600m.

The transaction, still subject to regulatory approval, saw Permira invest alongside GFKL's management, which secured a minority stake in the business.

GFKL intends to dedicate the funds to its expansion, both in Germany and abroad. According to the GP, the debt collection and purchase service stands to benefit from current trends in the sector such as a fragmented German market, the development of e-commerce worldwide and the outsourcing of receivable management services by companies.

This is the 11th investment by Permira's fifth fund. The vehicle, now deployed at nearly 50%, closed on its €5.3bn hard-cap in June 2014. The fund had been launched in September 2011 with an initial target of €6.5bn, which was later cut to €4-5bn in March 2013.

The investment is the fourth by Permira in the financial services sector over the past few years, and the first outside the UK. The GP notably acquired Kent-based retirement financial product Saga for €9.685m in 2007.

This was followed by the £225m take-private of Reigate-based Just Retirement in 2009 and the merger of private client investment services Bestinvest and Tilney in 2014.

Debt
The transaction will be supported by a debt package jointly supplied by Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse and Citi.

Previous funding
GFKL was bought by Advent International in December 2009, when the London-based firm acquired 80% the then-listed company from investors including Goldman Sachs, WestLB, Ergo and Royal Bank of Scotland, according to unquote" data.

The acquisition, completed for an undisclosed price, allowed GFKL's management to further invest in sales, operations, finance and IT.

A broader financial services conglomerate at the time, the company sought to focus on its receivable operations and began divesting some of its non-core assets. This led to software subsidiary Geneva-ID being sold to Subito AG in April 2012.

Company
Founded in 1992, GFKL is a financial services provider specialising on receivables. The company claims to manage €16.6bn worth of receivables for clients such as business groups, banks, insurance companies and public institutions.

Headquartered in Essen, Germany, GFKL employs a workforce of 950 and posted revenues of €244m in 2014, up from €196m in 2013.

People
Partner Philip Muelder led the deal for Permira, while Advent International was represented by Germany director Christian Stoffel. Kamyar Niroumand is CEO of GFKL.