Alternative asset manager Balbec Capital Management has bought a portfolio worth over €4 billion of soured Portuguese loans from Luxembourg-based LX Partners, according to a statement seen by Bloomberg News.

The portfolio has more than 300,000 restructured and non-performing loans (NPL), and its purchase is one of the largest such loan transactions in recent years, Balbec said. It’s one of the biggest portfolio purchases of NPL for the firm since it was founded in 2010.

About two-thirds of the portfolio consists of unsecured debt, such as loans to small and medium-sized businesses, according to Balbec. The secured portion, which is one-third of the portfolio, consists of residential mortgages and other real estate loans.

Balbec has expertise with “credit-intensive” assets such as NPL, one of the reasons why this portfolio is an attractive purchase, the firm said in a statement. The company is re-entering the Portuguese market with this deal.

There may also be an opening to buy these types of loans now. Other lenders that focus on such loans have lately been preoccupied with refinancing their own maturing corporate debt or are looking for opportunities outside Portugal, the firm said.

“Portugal looks particularly attractive to us now because there’s an ample supply of non-performing and semi-performing loans and less competition on the demand side,” Balbec said in a statement.

Many of the loans were originally made by banks and other lenders before later being sold to LX Partners, which invests in a variety of assets, including performing and non-performing assets.

Going forward, Balbec and LX will jointly work on bids for secured, unsecured and mixed portfolios, with LX providing the servicing, according to Balbec.

Original Story: Bloomberg | Author: Scott Carpenter
Edition: Prime Yield