Portfolio Recovery Associates Acquires UK IVA Platform

Portfolio Recovery Associates, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRAA), a financial and business services company operating in the U.S. and U.K., today announced the acquisition of certain operating assets from Pamplona Capital Management, LLP (PCM).

These assets include PCM’s IVA Master Servicing Platform, as well as other operating assets associated with PCM’s IVA business. IVAs, or individual voluntary arrangements, are a formal alternative for U.K. consumers to primarily avoid bankruptcy.

The transaction also includes the hiring of PCM’s IVA management and analytical team, led by Andrew Berardi. Mr. Berardi has been instrumental in establishing PCM as a leading competitor in the U.K. IVA market.

“The team and I are very excited about joining PRA. The company is a leader in the debt buying industry with a strong culture of compliance and well established systems, processes and procedures. This will make for a smooth transition, as well as provide continued support for the IVA team as it moves forward,” said Mr. Berardi, partner with PCM.

The transaction is scheduled to close on or before June 30, 2014. PRA plans to continue to operate out of PCM’s existing facilities during a short transition period after closing. During that period, PCM will provide certain ongoing services and support to the PRA IVA team to effect an orderly move to a new location. PRA plans to locate the new office in central London to provide easy access for its seller, insolvency practitioner and vendor partners.

“PRA’s strong operational skills and long-term commitment to the debt buying industry give us great comfort as PRA takes over as Master Servicer for our IVA portfolio,” said Yves Leysen, managing partner with PCM.

“Pamplona has built an impressive IVA organization over the last few years and experienced significant success. We are very excited about the purchase and look forward to helping Andrew and his team as they continue to grow their business,” said Mike Petit, president, bankruptcy services, PRA.

“This transaction will expand PRA’s presence in the U.K. and build on our successful acquisition of U.K. consumer debt since 2012. Our U.S. bankruptcy business has become a significant contributor to our bottom line and we anticipate solid growth opportunities from our new U.K. insolvency business as well,” said Steve Fredrickson, chairman, president and chief executive officer, PRA.

The company will have more to say to shareholders about its U.K. business and this transaction when it reports fourth quarter and full year 2013 earnings before the end of the month.

As a leader in the U.S. debt buying industry, Portfolio Recovery Associates, Inc. (PRA) returns capital to banks and other creditors that helps expand financial services for consumers. PRA collaborates with its customers to create affordable, realistic debt repayment plans. The company also provides a broad range of fee-based services to local governments and law enforcement, auto lenders and insurers, businesses and institutional investors, global hedge funds, and U.K. banks and creditors.  For more information, please visit www.PortfolioRecovery.com.

Pamplona Capital Management, LLP (PCM) is an investment manager that provides alternative investment platforms across private equity, fund of funds and single manager hedge fund investments. PCM currently manages over $6 billion in assets for a variety of clients including public pension funds, international wealth managers, multinational corporations, family offices and funds of hedge funds. For more information, please visit www.PamplonaFunds.com.