Big US debt collector Encore Capital Group has acquired a 50.25 per cent stake in the Australasian debt collection company Baycorp.Baycorp announced yesterday that its current owners, Oceania Capital Partners and SAS Trustee Capital, would remain as shareholders with board representation.Oceania Capital announced separately that it had sold a 27.9 per cent stake in Baycorp to Encore for A$18.3 million.Baycorp general manager Australia, Craig Hobart, said the addition of Encore as a shareholder was an opportunity to draw on its sophisticated data analytics and grow the business.Encore claims to have industry-leading predictive analytics and "decision science expertise."Baycorp has the biggest share of the debt collection market in New Zealand. In Australia it is ranked as a second tier player. The company is a debt buyer and also works on an agency basis. It also offers field services, such as acting as bailiff and sheriff.Currently it has 800,000 customers and 300 staff.