From the AFR: Billion dollar player stalks Nimble Money One of the big dogs of Australia's credit sector has its sights on the industry's cute little bunny.
ASX-listed Credit Corp, which has a market value of close to $1 billion, is considering entering the auction for payday lender Nimble, which uses a rabbit as its logo (and a hairy man in a rabbit suit in its TV advertisements).
It is understood Credit Corp is preparing an indicative bid by this week's deadline, which may be extended to accommodate overseas parties.
Sources said other logical bidders on the homefront include receivables manager Collection House, non-bank lender Liberty and Nasdaq-listed payday lender and pawn shop EZCorp, which owns a stake in local outfit Cash Converters.
However, Pengana Capital-backed Credit Corp looms as the bidder to beat at this early stage.
The Thomas Beregi-led company had a $172 million consumer lending book as at December 31, 2017 and an estimated 20 per cent of the market, offering the same types of loans as Nimble. It's seeking to grow its Wallet Wizard unsecured cash loan book above $200 million.
Last November Credit Corp acquired the Cashfirst branded consumer loan book and associated assets from Thorn Group. Beregi said at the time that the transaction demonstrated the company's ability to use its "unrivalled financial capacity to seize unique opportunities."
Nimble Money is an online provider of short term loans of up to $5000 to Australian residents, with a $40 million-odd loanbook as at its last balance date. Street Talk revealed this week that a sale process was under way after the company received an unsolicited bid for the company, believed to have been from one of the existing shareholders. Nimble has attracted outside investors in recent years, with stockbroker Baillieu Holst running a pre-IPO placement as recently as 2014. Melbourne's private equity firm Lempriere Capital Partners is an investor, as is iSelect founder Damien Waller and Melbourne lawyer Leslie Webb.
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$20.58 Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
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