Further to its announcement on 19 December 2014, International Personal Finance plc (“IPF” or the “Company”), a leading international provider of consumer credit, today announces the completion of its acquisition of the entire issued and to be issued share capital of MCB Finance Group plc (“MCB”), a consumer finance company established in Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and a pilot operation in Australia, for a total consideration of £23.8 million.
MCB offers credit products to 121,000 active retail customers in five countries. It offers unsecured loans of up to €3,000 with varying maturities of up to two years and, in the year to 31 December 2013, advanced in excess of €90 million. Customers are served online or through selected distribution partners.
The acquisition of MCB will enable IPF to accelerate the development of IPF’s digital business and the hapiloans brand, which is one of the Company’s key strategic priorities. IPF will also benefit from new digital products and distribution channels in order to better address the evolving requirements of its current and potential customers. The acquisition will also expand IPF’s geographical footprint into four new markets – Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Australia – and further solidify the Company’s business in Lithuania.
MCB will continue to be run by the existing management team, led by CEO Rami Ryhanen. It is expected that MCB’s current brands Credit24 and Sving will retain their identities in their current markets to ensure continuity of services provided to MCB’s current customers. Mr Ryhanen will report to IPF’s CEO, Gerard Ryan.
Commenting on today’s announcement, Gerard Ryan, Chief Executive Officer of IPF, said:
“The acquisition of MCB is an exciting and important step in the execution of our Strategy for Growth. IPF will benefit from MCB’s established digital lending platform, successful track record and highly experienced team, while our core home collection business and the newly launched online Hapi business in Poland will be effectively complemented by an expanded range of digital products and distribution channels. The acquisition will also facilitate our further geographical expansion and enable us to tap new underserved markets with high growth potential. I welcome MCB’s team to our growing IPF family and look forward to working with them across our markets.”
Commenting on the acquisition, Rami Ryhanen, CEO of MCB, said:
“I am excited about joining the IPF team and I am confident that MCB will benefit from IPF’s leading position in the market, 130 years of experience in consumer lending, and its strong and stable financial position. This transaction opens new attractive opportunities to MCB, its customers and employees.”
