CPE News (3/11/2021) – CURO Group Holdings Corp. (NYSE: CURO) has completed the acquisition of FLX Holding Corp. and its operating subsidiary, Flexiti Financial Inc. for CDN $109 million, plus earn-out amounts of up to CDN $46.5 million.
Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP acted as legal counsel to the selling parties.
Founded by Peter Kalen, Flexiti is one of Canada’s fastest-growing point-of-sale lenders, offering customers 0% interest financing at retailers that sell big-ticket goods like furniture, appliances, jewelry and electronics.
Flexiti senior management team also includes David Yeilding (CFO), Colin Franks (Chief Risk Officer), Sharissa Ellyn (Chief Legal Officer), Shadi Khatib (Chief Information Officer), Lisa Boulanger (Chief Product Officer).
FLX Holding had been backed by Globalive Capital Inc., a company controlled by Anthony Lacavera, NELI Financial Incorporated, Echo Bay Strategic Yield Advisors Inc., a group of Canadian private investors and international investors.
In connection with the transaction, Flexiti and a related entity refinanced and expanded its non-recourse asset-backed warehouse financing facility from CDN $300 million to CDN $500 million funded by Credit Suisse AG and SPF Securitized Products Master Fund Ltd.
photo credit: Flexiti
News Release
CURO Completes Acquisition of Flexiti
March 10, 2021 04:25 PM Eastern Standard Time
WICHITA, Kan.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–CURO Group Holdings Corp. (NYSE: CURO) (“CURO”), a market leader in providing credit to non-prime consumers, today announced that it has completed the previously announced acquisition of Flexiti Financial. Inc. (“Flexiti”), an emerging growth Canadian point-of-sale (“POS”) / buy-now-pay-later (“BNPL”) provider. The transaction included cash at closing of $86 million and contingent consideration of up to $36 million based on the achievement of risk-adjusted revenue and origination targets over the next two years based upon exchange rates at the time of closing. The acquisition of Flexiti provides CURO instant capability and scale opportunity in Canada’s credit card and POS financing markets.
“We are excited to announce the completion of the acquisition of Flexiti, one of Canada’s fastest-growing BNPL providers with a market-leading omni-channel FinTech platform,” said Don Gayhardt, CEO of CURO. “The acquisition of Flexiti enhances CURO’s long-term growth and financial and risk profiles and allows us to access the full spectrum of Canadian consumers by adding an established private label credit card platform and POS financing capabilities. We now reach consumers in Canada through all the ways they access credit, directly both in-store and online, via credit cards or at the point of sale. We welcome Flexiti’s more than 2,000 merchant partners and look forward to continuing to provide them with industry-leading service and solutions to improve sales and customer satisfaction.”
Flexiti offers customers flexible payment plans at retailers that sell goods such as furniture, appliances, jewelry and electronics. Through Flexiti’s award-winning BNPL platform and proprietary technology, customers can be approved instantly to shop with their FlexitiCard, which they can use online or in-store to make multiple purchases, within their credit limit, without needing to reapply. In 2020, Flexiti was recognized by The Globe and Mail (Canada’s Fastest Growing Companies– ranked 6th), Canadian Business (Growth List – ranked 3rd), Deloitte (Technology Fast 50 TM – ranked 6th) and The Financial Times (The Americas’ Fastest Growing Companies – ranked 29th, 2nd in Canada).
In connection with the transaction, Flexiti and a related entity refinanced and expanded its nonrecourse asset-backed warehouse financing facility from $300 million to $395 million funded by Credit Suisse AG and SPF Securitized Products Master Fund Ltd.
About CURO
CURO Group Holdings Corp. (NYSE: CURO) serves the evolving needs of the financial consumer. In 1997, the Company was founded in Riverside, California by three Wichita, Kansas childhood friends to meet the growing consumer need for short-term loans. Their success led to opening stores across the United States, later expanding to offer online loans and financial services in the United States and Canada and now broadening into a full-spectrum consumer lender through the point-of-sale / buy-now-pay-later channel. CURO combines its market expertise with a fully integrated technology platforms, an omni-channel approach and advanced credit decisioning to provide an array of credit products across all mediums. CURO operates under a number of brands including Speedy Cash®, Rapid Cash®, Cash Money®, LendDirect®, Flexiti®, Avío Credit®, Opt+® and Revolve Finance®.
About Flexiti
Flexiti is one of Canada’s fastest-growing point-of-sale lenders, offering customers 0% interest financing at retailers that sell big-ticket goods like furniture, appliances, jewellery and electronics. Through its award-winning buy-now-pay-later platform, customers can be approved instantly to shop with their FlexitiCard®, which they can use online or in-store to make multiple purchases, within their credit limit, without needing to reapply. Accepted at nearly 6,000 locations and ecommerce sites across Canada including The Brick, Leon’s, Staples, Sleep Country, Wayfair, Birks and Peoples Jewellers, Flexiti aims to make our customers’ lives more affordable and help our retail partners grow their sales by offering flexible financing options.
Flexiti’s growth, driven by its technology platform, is recognized as market leading. In 2020, Flexiti was named Canada’s 6th fastest growing company by the Globe and Mail and ranked 6th in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50TM program. Flexiti also was ranked 29th by the Financial Times as one of the fastest growing technology companies in the Americas in 2020. Flexiti is now a wholly owned subsidiary of CURO.
For more information, visit www.flexiti.com.
(CURO-NWS)
Contacts
Investor Relations:
Roger Dean
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Phone: 844-200-0342
Email: IR@curo.com
Or
Financial Profiles, Inc.
Curo@finprofiles.com