Collectius, a Singapore-based pan-Asian NPL restructuring firm, announced that it has acquired Magnate Group Plus, one of Thailand’s top five debt servicing companies, for an undisclosed amount.
Magnate has more than 350 employees and an annual turnover of over 200 million baht (about $6 million). It currently services customers from banks and other commercial clients, covering products such as personal loans, credit card loans, and nano-finance services.
Collectius, which is licensed by the Bank of Thailand since 2016, said the acquisition further bolsters its debt servicing capabilities and increases its Thai customer base by more than 70%, from 300,000 to 500,000.
The debt servicing firm has so far purchased a total of $368.7 million worth of unsecured consumer NPLs in Thailand, where the central bank and financial institutions are concerned about rising NPLs due to COVID-19.
Group CEO Gustav Eriksson said Thailand is often considered as one of the most mature markets in Asia, when it comes to debt purchased and debt servicing, due to high NPL ratio and well-established governance and regulations.
“In that context, being the leading restructuring partner within Asia, we see this acquisition as the next phase of growing and deepening Collectius’ presence in Thailand,” he said.
Collectius is one of the few regional retail NPL purchasing and servicing companies that operate in markets such as Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam in Southeast Asia.
Beyond Thailand, Collectius is looking to expand its debt purchasing solutions for financial institutions, to include India, Vietnam, and Singapore.
The company was founded in 2014 and has since handled debt totalling $2.5 billion across 40 portfolios, serving 3 million customers. It claims to have a headcount of over 400 people across these five markets.
Last year, the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, proposed an investment of up to $30 million in a distressed asset recovery programme (DARP) platform being set up by Collectius.