We are happy to announce that we successfully advised the owners of KNP Financial Services on the sale of 100% of their shares to coeo Inkasso, a leading German debt collection company backed by an independent private equity group.

KNP Financial Services

KNP Financial Services is a leading, independent provider of debt collection services in the Austrian market. The company boasts a highly digitalised and integrated process, resulting in above-average returns for its customers and yielding a strong growth trajectory for the company.

The Transaction

coeo Inkasso is a fast growing provider of debt collection and debt management services in Germany, backed by private equity house Waterland.
coeo and KNP already closely collaborate. The transaction is therefore expected to yield significant synergies for both parties as well as benefits for their clients.

Trends in the Debt Collection Industry

Overall, there is a trend in Europe towards increased use of debt collection agencies. E-commerce remains driving force behind the industry’s overall growth.

 The majority of customers comes from the e-commerce and mail order sector, followed by service providers, energy providers, telecommunications companies and insurance companies.

 Technology will play an ever-growing role in effective debt collection, from mobile applications to the automation of processes (eg. chatbots and mailbots).

 Optimisation of payment plans through the application of modern machine learning-based systems will set the tone for receivables management.

The growing importance of social media within the debt collection industry requires an increased awareness of customer retention and a more gentle approach.

 Numerous debt collection agencies are expanding their service offering. In addition to classic receivables management, inbound and outbound calls and credit checks, a large number of companies now offers debtor management and the purchase of non-performing receivables or factoring.

 As digitalisation will require significant investment, it will put pressure on smaller market participants, which will in turn further drive consolidation. M&A activity is expected to remain on a high level.

Peer Group Analysis

The international peer group consists of stock-market-listed peers offering debt collection services, such as Intrum, PRA Group and others.
Due to the industry’s high overall profitability, valuations on the stock-market have remained above average for the past year with EBITDA-multiples ranging from 7x to 15x.
Profitability is expected to remain at a high level, supporting today’s valuations.

EV/EBITDA (ntm) – Multiple Development

Analysis of Key Performance Indicators

Selected M&A Deals Across Europe

Want to know more?

If you would like to learn more about the valuations and deals of your industry, the transaction mentioned above or generally our way of working, we would certainly be happy to demonstrate our m&a PLUS® principle in a confidential meeting.
Just get in touch and we will share our experience on how to grow businesses with long-lasting partnerships.

With passion for M&A,
Your SAZUN Team