Galaxy Buys Hispanic Collection Agency

Debt buyer Galaxy Asset Management, LLC (GAM) announced yesterday it bought a controlling interest in International Risk Management (IRM), a collections agency in Guadalajara, Mexico that serves the Hispanic market. Terms of the deal weren’t announced.

IRM has 160 employees in a call center in Guadalajara and offices in Las Vegas and Norcross, Ga., according to a press release. It provides first and third party collections of credit card accounts of Spanish speaking consumers, including near shore call back to the U.S. It also purchases and services for its own account distressed consumer receivables and mortgages.

Galaxy is a purchaser of domestic and international distressed consumer receivables, with a focus on credit card debt.

“IRM is a great platform upon which we intend to grow. It has doubled the size of its business in the last 12 months and has opportunities on the table to double its size again in the next 12 months” said Tye Hanna, Galaxy’s CEO and president, in a release.

Mike Ginsberg, president and CEO of strategic consultant Kaulkin Ginsberg, said that the combined firm will be a robust competitor, especially as the Hispanic community keeps growing in the U.S.

“This puts Galaxy is a strong position for growth serving the Spanish-speaking population,” said Ginsberg. “The two firms appear to be stronger together than they would be separately.”

The deal also represents a homecoming of sorts for Hanna and Juan Blanco, CEO and president of IRM. The two worked together at Worldwide Asset Management. It was acquired by West Corp. in December, 2004 and renamed West Asset Management. Blanco purchased IRM from West in December 2006.