Fortis and EOS enter into a partnership in debt collection
Fortis Consumer Finance and EOS have reached an agreement by which
EOS will acquire 50% joint control of Aremas, a subsidiary of Alpha
Credit, part of Fortis Consumer Finance. Together, the new partners
will further establish Aremas as a key player in the Belgian and
Luxembourg debt collection market, and are looking forward to
developing their strategic partnership.
Aremas is Fortis's in-house debt collection company, collecting
defaulted loans from individuals granted by most of Fortis's Belgian
and Luxembourg subsidiaries, including Alpha Credit, Fortis Bank
Belgium, Fortis Bank Luxembourg, ICS Belgium and Fortis Insurance
Belgium. The company has 51 FTEs.
With around 3,100 employees in 19 countries, the EOS Group, an Otto
Group company, is one of the leading financial services undertakings
in Europe. The 35 operating companies in the Group are active in the
information management, arrears management and receivables management
business and look after some 20,000 clients around the world - from
banks and insurance companies, to the manufacturing industry and mail
order segment, as well as public utilities, telecommunications firms
and IT companies.
Marc Luet, CEO Fortis Retail International and Consumer Finance,
comments: "With the combination of Fortis's skills in the collection
of financial debts and its sizeable operations, teamed with EOS's
European scale and industrial expertise in all debt collection areas,
we want to develop Aremas into a Tier One player in the growing
Belgian debt collection market. We welcome EOS as a true partner and
look forward to our cooperation in Belgium and Luxembourg, but also
in a long-term perspective on a pan-European basis."
With this acquisition, the EOS Group is strengthening its market
position, particularly in its highest-turnover business unit of
receivables management. "The expansion strategy of Fortis is a
perfect complement to the growth plan of EOS. There are a lot of
opportunities to be exploited and the new partnership is all geared
up to do that", explains Hans-Werner Scherer, Chairman of the Board
of Directors of the EOS Group.
This transaction will have no impact on Fortis's net profit per
share.
Fortis is an international financial services provider engaged in
banking and insurance. We offer our personal, business and
institutional customers a comprehensive package of products and
services through our own channels, in collaboration with
intermediaries and through other distribution partners.
With a market capitalisation of EUR 48.5 billion (31/10/2007), Fortis
ranks among the 15 largest financial institutions in Europe. Our
sound solvency position, our presence in more than 50 countries and
our dedicated, professional workforce of 60,000 enable us to combine
global strength with local flexibility and provide our clients with
optimum support. More information is available on www.fortis.com
The EOS Group is one of Europe's leading financial services providers
outside bank and insurance businesses that are subject to licenses.
The EOS brand stands for professional, tailor-made and consolidated
financial solutions, covering the entire customer life cycle - from
customer acquisition, invoicing and arrears billing to debt
collection and purchasing receivables portfolios.
Robust sales growth of 13.4 per cent made the financial year 2006/07
an unexpectedly positive one for the EOS Group. EOS increased its
sales from EUR 203.8 million to EUR 231.1 million. More information
is available on www.eos-solutions.com
Fortis
Press Contacts:
Brussels: +32 2 565 35 Utrecht: +31 30 226 32 19
84
Investor Relations:
Brussels: +32 2 565 53 Utrecht: +31 30 226 65 66
78
EOS
Press Contact:
Lara Flemming: +49 40 2850 E-mail: l.flemming@eos-solutions.com
1560
