Norwegian Debt Collector Purchases Collection Unit and Portfolio From One of Norway's Largest Banks

Aktiv Kapital ASA has today entered into an agreement with Nordea Bank Norge ASA on the transfer of the business activities of the wholly owned subsidiary, Inkassosentralen AS, and the takeover of the bank’s portfolio of defaulted loans that the company has for collection.

- Debt collection is not a part of the bank’s core business and it is a deliberate and natural choice to buy collection services from an external vendor, says Mathias Martinsen, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Inkassosentralen and Senior Vice President in Nordea Bank Norge.

- The purchase is of strategic importance for the Aktiv Kapital Group and will strengthen the group’s position in Norway – both geographically and within the Norwegian market for large portfolios of defaulted loans. Inkassosentralen has considerable competence and experience in handling financial claims, says Olav Dalen Zahl, Group CEO of Aktiv Kapital.

Inkassosentralen AS was established in 1985 and has its head office in Kristiansand and offices in Sandnes, Ålesund and Oslo. The division structure will not be changed as a part of the acquisition. The same staff will service both the existing debtors and customers of Inkassosentralen AS. The company’s 66 employees will from 1 December this year be part of Aktiv Kapital’s Norwegian business, and will therefore be able to offer Inkassosentralens customers a broader range of products. Inkassosentralen AS had in 2002 total turnover of NOK 62.6m ($9 million), not including the income from the Nordea defaulted loan portfolio, which had a turnover of NOK 38 m.

The portfolio to be transferred consists of total outstanding claims of about NOK 3.7bn ($528 million) distributed on 21,200 personal debtors. The claims derive from Nordea’s Norwegian banking business and are expected to generate a gross cash flow of NOK 80m ($11.4 million) in 2003.

The total purchase price for the portfolio and the activities of Inkassosentralen is NOK 262.5m ($37.5 million). The portfolio will be taken over with effect from 1 July this year whereas the activities of Inkassosentralen will be taken over with effect from 30 September. Settlement and takeover will be effected on 1 December 2003. The purchase price will be debt financed. Nordea Bank Norge is currently the main customer of Inkassosentralen and will, pursuant to the agreement, continue to use its services for another five years.

Aktiv Kapital ASA, established in 1991, is a listed group and a major provider of credit administration services, including acquisition of loan portfolios, in the Nordic countries and the UK. The group today has about 390 employees in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and the UK.