Headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia and incorporated in Delaware, we are a leading
company in the acquisition and collection of nonperforming loans in the Americas
and Europe. Our business focuses upon the acquisition, collection, and processing
of both unpaid and normal-course accounts receivable originally owed to credit
grantors, government entities, and others. Our primary business is the purchase,
collection and management of portfolios of nonperforming consumer loans. The
accounts we acquire are the unpaid obligations of individuals owed to credit
grantors, which primarily include banks and other types of consumer, retail,
and auto finance companies. We also provide the following fee-based services:
Contingent collections of nonperforming loans in Europe;
Vehicle location, skip tracing and collateral recovery for auto lenders, government
entities and law enforcement;
Revenue administration, audit and debt discovery services for local government
entities; and
Class action claims recovery services and related payment processing.
We have one reportable segment, accounts receivable management, based on similarities
among the operating units including the nature of the products and services,
the nature of the production processes, the types or classes of customers for
our products and services, the methods used to distribute our products and services,
and the nature of the regulatory environment.
On August 3, 2015 we acquired 55% of the equity interest in RCB Investimentos
S.A. ("RCB"). The remaining 45% of the equity interest in RCB is owned
by the executive team and previous owners of RCB. RCB was founded in 2007 and
is a leading master servicing platform for nonperforming loans in Brazil. RCB
specializes in structuring, investing and operating receivable and credit-related
assets. The founders of RCB each entered into long-term employment agreements
with us and will continue to manage RCBs local business in Brazil. Our investment
for the 55% ownership of RCB was paid for with approximately $55.2 million in
cash which was borrowed under our existing domestic revolving credit facility.
The majority of cash paid to acquire the equity interest in RCB is expected
to be used in the ordinary course of business. As part of the investment and
call option agreements, we have the right to purchase the remaining 45% of RCB
at certain multiples of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization
("EBITDA") beginning August 3, 2019 and lasting for two years.
The scale and scope of our international business expanded substantially during
2014 primarily due to the acquisition of Aktiv Kapital ("Aktiv"),
a Norway-based leader in acquiring and servicing nonperforming consumer debt
throughout Europe and Canada. With the Aktiv acquisition, we became one of the
worlds largest acquirers of nonperforming consumer loans from banks and other
creditors. The Aktiv acquisition provided us entry into several new markets,
resulting in additional geographic diversity in portfolio purchasing and collection.
Aktivs executive team and the more than 400 Aktiv employees joined our workforce
upon the closing of the transaction.
We believe that the strengths of our business are our analytical approach to
portfolio pricing and servicing, our processing systems and procedures, our
relationships with many of the largest consumer lenders, and our extensive compliance
systems and culture. The success of our business depends on our ability to purchase
nonperforming loans at appropriate valuations and to collect on those receivables
in a compliant, effective and efficient manner.
Our Core business specializes in receivables that have been charged-off by the
credit grantor. Because the credit grantor and/or other debt servicing companies
have unsuccessfully attempted to fully collect these receivables, we are able
to purchase them at a substantial discount to their face value.
Our Insolvency business consists primarily of purchasing and collecting accounts
that are involved in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy proceeding from credit grantors
based in the United States. During 2014, the geographic footprint of the Insolvency
business expanded into Canada and Europe.
We were initially formed as Portfolio Recovery Associates, L.L.C., a Delaware
limited liability company, on March 20, 1996. In connection with our 2002 initial
public offering, all of the membership units of Portfolio Recovery Associates,
L.L.C. were exchanged, simultaneously with the effectiveness of our registration
statement, for a single class of Portfolio Recovery Associates, Inc. common
stock, a new Delaware corporation formed on August 7, 2002. Accordingly, the
members of Portfolio Recovery Associates, L.L.C. became the common stockholders
of Portfolio Recovery Associates, Inc., which became the parent company of Portfolio
Recovery Associates, L.L.C. and its subsidiaries. On October 23, 2014, we changed
our name to PRA Group, Inc.
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