Cerberus buys Bluestone’s Australasia operations
Cerberus Capital Management has agreed to acquire the Australasian division of international financial services company Bluestone Group in an all-cash transaction. It will facilitate an exit for a PE unit of Lloyds Bank.
Financial details were not disclosed. Bluestone Holdings Australia reported net assets of A$41.2 million ($32 million) and earnings of A$12.4 million for the 2017 financial year. Media reports have suggested a valuation of about A$100 million.
Bluestone Group will use part of the proceeds to buy back shares held by majority shareholder Lloyds Development Capital (LDC), which initially invested the business in 2014. This will result in entities associated with Bluestone founder Alistair Jeffery regaining a controlling stake in the parent company.
The deal will also allow Macquarie Bank to increase its shareholding in Bluestone Group to 30%. LDC, Jeffery and Macquarie held 53%, 30% and 14.5% stakes in Bluestone Group as of September last year, according to Mergermarket. Bluestone Group reported net assets of GBP43 million ($59 million) for the 2017 financial year, prior to the sale of the Australasian business.
Bluestone Australia is a specialist lending business that claims to have originated more than A$6 billion worth of loans and completed at least 24 securitizations since being founded in 2000. It is considered the most mature unit of the Bluestone Group. An expansion into New Zealand was realized in 2002 and a call center was set up in the Philippines in 2013.
The business is expected to leverage Cerberus’ existing exposure to the loan services space globally, including Spain’s Haya Real Estate, UK mortgaging platform CHL, and Cerberus European Servicing, the firm’s proprietary platform. Cerberus is also expected to help Bluestone Australia broaden its existing product set.
“With its solid balance sheet and strong competitive position, Bluestone Holdings Australia is well positioned to capitalize on the currently attractive market and regulatory dynamics,” Lee Millstein, president of Cerberus Global Investments, said in a statement. “We believe this is the ideal transaction to draw on our mortgage investing and servicing experience and expand our business into the Australian market.”
Founded in 1992, Cerberus claims to manage more than $34 billion across a mandate that includes private equity, distressed securities and assets, middle-market lending, and real estate. The firm, which operates via offices in the US, Europe, and Asia, closed its sixth flagship multi-strategy fund at $4 billion in April last year.
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