Värde Partners, Deutsche Bank & KKR Consortium appoint CEO and announce “Latitude Financial Services” as the new brand for the GE Consumer Finance Business
MELBOURNE – Värde Partners, Deutsche Bank and KKR (the “Consortium”) announce that Sean Morrissey has today been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer designate of Latitude Financial Services, which will be the new name of the GE Consumer finance business in Australia and New Zealand (the “Business”). This appointment will take effect upon the completion of the A$8.2 billion acquisition of the Business by the Consortium which was announced in March. The acquisition is pending closing.
Mr. Morrissey will join the Business from GE Money Bank Czech Republic, where he was Chairman of the Management Board and CEO of the bank’s operations in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. He will relocate to Melbourne from Prague for the role.
“We are excited to have Sean join to head an already strong leadership team. Sean’s established record of growing businesses, proven leadership capabilities, and international experience will complement the local team’s deep Australian and New Zealand market knowledge and capabilities,” said Ed Bostock, Director, KKR Australia, on behalf of the Consortium. “Working together, we are confident that they will maximize the company’s growth.”
“The Business is already a trusted leader within the consumer lending space and I am honoured to join the company as it embarks on its exciting transition to a standalone entity,” said Mr. Morrissey. “Today we announce our new corporate name, Latitude Financial Services. This name will take effect from completion of the acquisition of the Business by the Consortium. I am very excited by the growth potential of Latitude Financial Services and the opportunity we now have to further invest and build on its current strengths. The Business is a world-class company with deep customer relationships, innovative products, strong brands and an experienced and talented team of employees.”
The Business is a leading financial services provider offering a range of services and products including personal loans, credit cards and interest free retail finance. It has more than 2.5 million customers and is a long-standing partner to many of the major retailers in Australia and New Zealand. All of its products and services will remain under the company following its transition to a standalone business.
Mr. Morrissey has been at GE since 2000 and has held various CEO positions at GE Capital including the Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany and Denmark. Most recently at GE Money Bank Czech Republic, a full-service bank that is one of the largest financial institutions in its country, Mr. Morrissey oversaw the development of strong and innovative consumer products, the acquisition of its leasing subsidiary and its entry into Commercial Real Estate lending.
Prior to his time at GE Money Bank Czech Republic, Mr. Morrissey was the CEO of Budapest Bank Group, where he is credited with successfully leading the bank through the financial crisis from 2009 to 2011. Before joining GE he held senior roles in the UK at BMW Financial Services Group and Ford Credit Europe. He received his Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Mathematical Studies from the University of Plymouth.
About the Business (to be renamed Latitude Financial Services):
The Business is a leading consumer finance business in Australia and New Zealand, offering 2.5 million customers a broad range of finance products including personal loans, credit cards, insurance and interest-free promotional and retail offers. Across Australia and New Zealand, the Business currently employs more than 2,200 staff and services its customers through a network of retailer partners, brokers, phone and the internet. The company offers a full suite of financing solutions for retail partners, managing credit applications, credit authorisation, billing, remittance and customer service processing. Its products include Gem Visa, GO MasterCard, 28 Degrees Platinum MasterCard, Myer Card and Myer Visa.
About Värde Partners:
Värde Partners is an approximately $10 billion global alternative investment firm that employs a credit-oriented, value-based approach to investing across a broad array of geographies, segments and asset types, including real estate, corporate credit, residential mortgages, specialty finance, transportation and infrastructure. The Firm provides the highest level of service to a select group of sophisticated global investors including foundations and endowments, pension plans, insurance companies, other institutional investors and private clients. Founded in 1993, Värde employs 200 people with offices in Minneapolis, London and Singapore.
About Deutsche Bank:
Deutsche Bank is a leading global bank. Deutsche Bank provides commercial and investment banking, retail banking, transaction banking and asset and wealth management products and services to corporations, governments, institutional investors, small and medium-sized businesses, and private individuals. Deutsche Bank is Germany’s leading bank, with a strong position in Europe and a significant presence in the Americas and Asia Pacific.
About KKR:
KKR is a leading global investment firm that manages investments across multiple asset classes including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit and hedge funds. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world‐class people, and driving growth and value creation at the asset level. KKR invests its own capital alongside its partners’ capital and brings opportunities to others through its capital markets business. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds. For additional information about KKR & Co. L.P. (NYSE:KKR), please visit KKR’s website at http://www.kkr.com/ and on Twitter @KKR_Co.
Värde Partners acquires Trimont Real Estate Advisors
MINNEAPOLIS – Värde Partners (“Värde”), a global alternative investment firm, today announced that certain funds managed by Värde completed the acquisition of Atlanta-based real estate asset management firm Trimont Real Estate Advisors (“Trimont”). Under the terms of the transaction, the Värde funds will be majority owners and Trimont’s current owners will be minority owners in the new entity, which will retain the Trimont name. Financial terms were not disclosed.
With $85 billion of client capital under management, Trimont provides real estate financial services, including asset management, asset servicing, construction loan administration and services, and underwriting. Trimont’s roster of clients spans the real estate world and the business creates an important platform for Värde’s growing real estate business.
Värde will integrate the operations of First City Financial Corporation (“FirstCity”), a commercial finance company owned by certain Värde funds with Trimont, creating a new Dallas office for Trimont.
“Trimont has a great brand name, a strong management team, exceptional client base and an excellent book of business in real estate finance services,” said Jim Dunbar, Managing Director of Värde. “By integrating FirstCity with the operations of Trimont we are building a bigger operation with a broader product offering and a larger geographic footprint.” Brian Schmidt, Sr. Managing Director and Head of U.S Real Estate at Värde, added, “We are excited to expand even further into this attractive market as the demand for non-bank financial services is increasing, especially in the resurgent construction lending market.”
Greg Winchester, Trimont principal said, “We are excited to be joining the Värde portfolio of real estate businesses and combining with FirstCity, which immediately gives Trimont more assets, customers and services. We are opening a new chapter in Trimont’s 27-year history as an important force in the real estate services industry.”
Mr. Winchester and founding partners John Charles and Ernie Davis have agreed to stay with Trimont through a transition period and will be meaningful shareholders in the company.
The transaction closed today.
Raymond James served as an exclusive financial advisor to Trimont on the transaction. Mayer Brown LLP served as legal counsel to Värde, and [Dentons] [ck.] served as legal counsel to Trimont.
About Trimont Real Estate Advisors:
Trimont Real Estate Advisors (trimontrea.com) is a real estate financial services provider with $85 billion of client capital under management, providing services to commercial lenders and investors since 1988. With 170 employees in Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, London and Amsterdam, the company core client services include asset management (primary, construction and special), asset servicing, construction loan administration, underwriting and due diligence, information management and public finance.
Trimont is a highly rated primary, special, and construction servicer, with particular expertise in repositioning and development deals. Trimont is rated by Standard & Poor’s as a Commercial Mortgage Special Servicer (Strong) a Construction Loan Servicer (Strong), and Commercial Primary Servicer (Above Average). It is rated by Fitch as a Primary Servicer (CPS2+) and a Special Servicer (CSS2) and by Kroll Bond Ratings, Inc.
About Värde Partners:
Värde Partners is a $10 billion global alternative investment firm that employs a credit-oriented, value-based approach to investing across a broad array of geographies, segments and asset types, including real estate, corporate credit, residential mortgages, specialty finance, transportation and infrastructure. The Firm sponsors and manages a family of private investment funds with a global investor base that includes foundations and endowments, pension plans, insurance companies, other institutional investors and private clients. Now in its third decade, Värde employs 200 people with main offices in Minneapolis, London and Singapore.
Värde Partners Closes Newly Originated Commercial Real Estate Loan
MINNEAPOLIS – Värde Partners, an alternative investor in broad strategies including commercial and residential mortgage markets, today announced that it has closed on a newly originated $15.1 million loan secured by transitional retail assets in Orlando, Florida.
The loan facilitated the acquisition of two value-add properties on a time sensitive deal with many fluid dynamics. “Värde’s knowledge of the Orlando market, commercial mortgage finance and flexible approach to the transaction allowed the borrower to achieve their need for certainty of closing,” said Managing Director, Jim Dunbar.
Värde’s entrance into the commercial real estate loan market follows the significant retraction of traditional banks from non-core markets and their divestiture of non-core businesses, leaving many credible borrowers without access to needed capital. “This loan reflects our investment thesis to provide commercial mortgages to borrowers who need flexible capital and timely execution,” said Senior Managing Director, Brian Schmidt. Värde’s mortgage business is a prominent provider of capital to the commercial and residential mortgage markets, and focuses on providing flexible capital and certainty of execution.
About Värde Partners:
Värde Partners is a $12 billion global alternative investment firm that employs a credit-oriented, value-based approach to investing across a broad array of geographies, segments and asset types, including real estate, corporate credit, mortgages, specialty finance, transportation and infrastructure. The firm sponsors and manages a family of private investment funds with a global investor base that includes foundations and endowments, pension plans, insurance companies, other institutional investors and private clients. Now in its third decade, Värde employs 240 people with main offices in Minneapolis, London and Singapore and additional offices around the world including New York.
Citi Reaches Agreement to Sell CitiFinancial Canada to Investor Group Led by J.C. Flowers and Värde Partners
NEW YORK – Citi has reached a definitive agreement to sell CitiFinancial Canada, Inc. (“CitiFinancial Canada”) to an investor group led by J.C. Flowers & Co. LLC and affiliates (“J.C. Flowers”), and Värde Partners (“Värde”). The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2017 and is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Citi does not expect the financial terms of the transaction to be material to its earnings.
“CitiFinancial Canada is a leading community-based lender in Canada,” said Francesco Vanni d’Archirafi, CEO of Citi Holdings. “We are especially pleased that the entire business, including all 1,300 employees, is included in the transaction.”
With USD 1.9 billion (CAD 2.5 billion) of assets and over a quarter of a million active customers, CitiFinancial Canada operates 217 branches across Canada. In addition to personal lending and mortgage solutions, CitiFinancial Canada provides retail financing programs to many of Canada’s top retailers.
“CitiFinancial Canada is a market leader with solid growth potential, and we look forward to collaborating with their outstanding management team to extend the business’s reach in underserved consumer markets in Canada,” said Thomas Harding, Vice President of J.C. Flowers. “We believe J.C. Flowers’ vast experience with financial services around the globe will help enhance CitiFinancial Canada’s products and services.”
“Värde is excited by the opportunity this transaction provides for CitiFinancial Canada in the dynamic consumer finance market in Canada. It is a natural extension of our deep expertise globally in specialty finance,” said Chris Giles, Senior Managing Director for Värde.
“CitiFinancial Canada is a leading personal lender and retail financer in the country, and we see a great opportunity to grow the business” said Aneek Mamik, Senior Managing Director and Head of North American Specialty Finance for Värde. “We are excited to add a great business to our specialty finance portfolio and look forward to partnering with the strong and experienced team at CitiFinancial.”
“With a local history dating back to 1919, Citi’s Canadian franchise remains an important part of our global footprint,” said John Hastings, CEO of Citibank Canada. “We look forward to continuing to serve our clients in our core institutional and consumer businesses.”
Citi’s Institutional Clients Group advised Citi on this transaction. Torys LLP acted as legal advisor for Citi. National Bank Financial Inc. was lead financial advisor to J.C. Flowers and Värde. Barclays Capital Inc. also served as financial advisor to the buyers. Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Stikeman Elliott LLP served as legal advisors to the buyers.
Citi:
Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.
Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com | Twitter: @Citi | YouTube: www.youtube.com/citi | Blog: http://blog.citigroup.com | Facebook: www.facebook.com/citi | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/citi
About J.C. Flowers:
J.C. Flowers is a leading private investment firm dedicated to investing globally in the financial services industry. Founded in 1998, the firm has invested more than $15 billion of capital in 46 portfolio companies in 16 countries across a range of industry subsectors including banking, insurance and reinsurance, securities firms, specialty finance, and services and asset management. With approximately $6 billion of assets under management, J.C. Flowers has offices in New York and London. For more information, visit jcfco.com.
About Värde Partners:
Värde Partners is a $12 billion global alternative investment firm that employs a value-based approach to investing across a broad array of geographies, segments and asset types, including real estate, corporate credit, residential mortgages, specialty finance, transportation and infrastructure. The firm sponsors and manages a family of private investment funds with a global investor base that includes foundations and endowments, pension plans, insurance companies, other institutional investors and private clients. Now in its third decade, Värde employs 240 people with main offices in Minneapolis, London and Singapore and additional offices around the world. For more information, visit varde.com.
Värde Partners Hires Aneek Mamik as North American Head of Specialty Finance
MINNEAPOLIS – Värde Partners, the $12 billion global alternative investment firm, today announced that Aneek Mamik has joined the firm as North American Head of Specialty Finance. He started in September and is based in New York. This appointment further positions Värde to invest in assets and platforms related to a range of smaller balance commercial and consumer credits to take advantage as banks around the globe refocus their balance sheets and reduce lending.
“We are pleased to welcome Aneek to the Värde team following his successful career at GE Capital, during which he led more than $150 billion of transactions in more than 30 countries over the last fifteen years,” said Värde Partners’ Rick Noel, Head of Global Specialty Finance. “We believe the depth and breadth of Aneek’s industry and transactional experience will help us create value in existing portfolios and when making new investments.”
Prior to joining Värde, Aneek spent fifteen years in a number of progressively senior executive roles at General Electric. He began as an Associate in the Australian consumer finance platform, which was recently acquired by Värde Partners and re-branded as Latitude Financial Services. He later joined the Mergers and Acquisitions group where he pursued acquisitions globally as part of GE Capital’s expansion. Most recently, as Senior Managing Director and Head of Mergers and Acquisitions for GE Capital Headquarters, where he led private and public market transactions across consumer, commercial & aviation finance.
“I’m excited to join Värde Partners and their incredible team,” said Aneek. “I have worked closely with the Värde team over the last several years and was attracted to the opportunity based on their culture and strong track record.”
Aneek received a Master of Business, Banking and Finance and a Bachelor of Accounting from Monash University in Australia. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accounts in Australia.
About Värde Partners:
Värde Partners is a $12 billion global alternative investment firm that employs a credit-oriented, value-based approach to investing across a broad array of geographies, segments and asset types, including real estate, corporate credit, residential mortgages, specialty finance, transportation and infrastructure. The Firm sponsors and manages a family of private investment funds with a global investor base that includes foundations and endowments, pension plans, insurance companies, other institutional investors and private clients. Now in its third decade, Värde employs 240 people with main offices in Minneapolis, London and Singapore and additional offices around the world including an office in New York.
Värde Partners and Titanium Exploration Partners, LLC Announce Closing of STACK and Eagle Ford Acquisitions
MINNEAPOLIS – Värde Partners (“Värde”) and Titanium Exploration Partners, LLC (“Titanium”) today announced they have acquired oil and gas assets in the STACK play in Oklahoma (the “STACK Acquisition”) and in the Eagle Ford Shale play in Texas (the “Eagle Ford Acquisition”).
The STACK Acquisition, which closed on September 9, 2016, consists of non-operated working interests covering approximately 3,600 net acres and 1,100 barrels of oil equivalent of daily production as of the effective date of the acquisition. The assets consist of non-operated working interests in Blaine and surrounding counties, primarily alongside Continental Resources, Inc., one of the leading operators in the play.
The Eagle Ford Acquisition, which closed recently, consists of approximately 3,900 net acres and approximately 1,050 barrels of oil equivalent of daily production as of the effective date of the acquisition. The assets consist of non-operated working interests alongside EOG Resources, Inc., the leading operator in the play, in Karnes and Gonzales Counties, and operated working interests in Karnes and Atascosa Counties, Texas.
Titanium will manage both the STACK Acquisition assets and the Eagle Ford Acquisition assets on behalf of Värde, who provided the financing for both acquisitions.
“We are excited to have the opportunity to partner with Titanium, and we look forward to building on this foundation of high-quality assets,” said Markus Specks, Director at Värde who leads Oil and Gas investing. “Consistent with our firm’s core value tenets, we continue to pursue opportunities in the energy sector. These transactions in partnership with Titanium represent an important step in that regard.”
“These acquisitions reflect our investment thesis to build core positions on behalf of our investors in the most economic basins and plays in the current commodity price environment,” said Peter Halloran, Titanium’s Executive Chairman and Chief Investment Officer. “These SCOOP/STACK and Eagle Ford assets are strategically located, highly value accretive today and uniquely positioned for future development,” added Chip Simmons, Titanium’s CEO.
About Titanium Exploration Partners, LLC:
Titanium Exploration Partners, LLC, is a Dallas, Texas-based oil and gas investment firm managed by Charles B. “Chip” Simmons, Chief Executive Officer and Peter M. Halloran, Executive Chairman and Chief Investment Officer. Titanium currently manages for the benefit of its investors approximately 12,000 barrels of oil equivalent of daily production generated from positions aggregating approximately 30,000 net acres. Titanium’s currently managed assets consist of producing and non-producing oil and natural gas reserves in the Eagle Ford Shale play in South Texas and in the SCOOP/STACK/Merge plays in Oklahoma. Titanium considers investments in operated and non-operated assets in all US shale plays.
About Värde Partners:
Värde Partners is a $12 billion global alternative investment firm that employs a value-based approach to investing across a broad array of geographies, segments and asset types, including real estate, corporate credit, residential mortgages, specialty finance, transportation, and energy. Värde sponsors and manages a family of private investment funds with a global investor base that includes foundations and endowments, pension plans, insurance companies, other institutional investors and private clients. Now in its third decade, Värde employs 240 people with main offices in Minneapolis, London and Singapore. For more information about the firm’s activity in oil and gas, please contact Markus Specks by email at mspecks@varde.com.