Telia Company said it has agreed to sell its Nordic and Baltic credit management services (CMS) and debt purchase business Sergel to Marginalen for SEK 2.07 billion on a cash and debt-free basis. The proceeds will generate a positive net cash effect of approximately SEK 1.87 million and strengthen Telia Company’s balance sheet. Telia CFO Christian Luiga said the transaction is part of its continuing strategy to focus on its core business.
Sergel has historically been the in-house collection unit of Telia Company but has gradually expanded its strategic focus to provide CMS and debt purchase services to external customers, too. In 2015, Sergel had revenues of around SEK 830 million and contributed SEK 206 million to Telia’s EBITDA excluding non-recurring items. Sergel has entered a new partnership agreement with Telia Company to provide it with CMS, debt purchase and clearing house services.
Closing of the transaction is expected to take place before end of 2016 and is subject to approvals from the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority and local Competition Authorities.
Marginalen is a privately owned bank and financial services company with a total of approximately 700 employees in Sweden, Latvia and Lithuania. In 2015, Marginalen’s total revenues amounted to SEK 735 million. Its Marginalen Bank unit had assets with a book value of SEK 17.43 million on 31 December 2015 and a total deposit volume of SEK 15.19 billion.
