The Italians from DoValue are leaving the Portuguese bad debt market and have three investors looking to buy the management company, which has €500 million in assets under management.
In addition to LX Partners’ €4 billion deal, another operation is underway in the Portuguese distressed debt market. The Italian group DoValue, controlled by Fortress and Bain, has already selected the three candidates to submit binding offers for its non-performing loans(NPL) and real estate management business in Portugal, which has €500 million in assets under management.
ECO understands that a shortlist of three candidates has already been selected, who will have to submit binding offers in the coming weeks. DoValue will then select the investor with whom it will enter into exclusive negotiations to reach a final agreement.
This follows a phase in which more than a dozen investors expressed interest in the transaction. According to DoValue Portugal, one of the reasons for the investors’ interest is related to the restructuring process that began a year ago “to transform the company into a boutique servicer, focusing on various strategic services for the regularisation and management of complex assets”. “In this context, we have acquired new clients, also with a strategic role, thus accumulating a wide and relevant experience for this specialisation,” the company said.
To date, DoValue Portugal’s activity has mainly involved the management of problematic assets, including a portfolio of real estate and NPL from Oitante (initially worth €1.5 billion, but now with a higher residual value) and a portfolio of NPL from Davidson Kempner. Although the final results for last year are not yet known, it had a turnover of €3.8 million by September. In 2022, it made a loss of almost €3 million after revenues of 7.1 million – compared to revenues of €21 million in 2019.
The Italians of DoValue entered the Portuguese market in 2019 with the acquisition of Altamira Portugal, which two years earlier had bought the business unit responsible for managing the real estate assets and credit portfolio of Oitante – the vehicle created to hold the assets of the former Banif that Santander didn’t want to buy. In 2021, Altamira Portugal was renamed DoValue Portugal.
Listed on the Milan stock exchange, DoValue claims to be the largest servicer in southern Europe. The group is controlled by Fortress and Bain, which own more than 40 per cent of the company.
Original Story: ECO | Author: Alberto Teixeira
Edition and translation: Prime Yield