A key competitor of CCP is in real strife. Panthera Finance is...

A key competitor of CCP is in real strife. Panthera Finance is in real strife. See AFR article today set out below. Ifirst mentioned Panthera problems about a week ago and it seems to be taking on a far more urgent tone and a manning of battle stations.

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Panthera mandates Grant Samuel to test buyer appetite

Feb 9, 2024 – 5.00am Sarah Thompson Kanika Sood Emma Rapaport

The spotlight’s back on Panthera Finance. Street Talk understands the debt collections outfit has mandated long-time adviser Grant Samuel to launch a sale for a handful of its debt ledger books as a part of an ongoing restructuring review.

Sources said the books are being shopped as high quality with the majority of collections made under payment arrangements. Established industry players are expected to be targeted, as well as new entrants. Panthera is understood to be offering up the books with supporting infrastructure, including ready-to-go collections teams.

Panthera Finance has purchased more than $5.5 billion in receivables from banks, telcos, utilities and the like. Fairfax Media
Street Talk spotted Grant Samuel on the scene last month, advising Panthera’s owners on ways to unlock value for shareholders. At the time, the corporate adviser was not formally mandated.

But the corporate adviser has kept close to Panthera’s founders, Queensland brothers Jamie and Mathew Hough, after running a debt refinancing in 2022 that ended with Brookfield Special Investments tipping in $150 million to replace an existing lender syndicate.

Panthera bought more than $5.5 billion in receivables in the past two decades, picking up business from banks, utilities and telecommunications companies. The company has been in the throes of an internal restructure since last year, which has seen it offload its CBA loan book to ASX-listed Pioneer Credit and exit its auto lending business. PwC’s corporate restructuring team is also on the case, this column revealed last month, looking at ways to optimise operations and slash headcount.

Panthera reported a $6.6 million loss in FY22, swinging from a $19.6 million profit a year earlier. It’s also facing regulatory troubles in Victoria with the state’s consumer affairs regulator investigating claims a company within the group was banned from working debts in Victoria due to “undue harassment” in trying to collect bad debts but a related entity kept operating.