FlexiGroup buys Once Credit
Store finance specialist, FlexiGroup, has entered into an arrangement to acquire the consumer finance company, Once Credit. Yesterday, FlexiGroup announced that it would pay A$45 million for Once Credit, which has 30,700 active customers and $110 million in receivables. FlexiGroup estimates that the purchase price values Once at eight times cash profit "after synergies".FlexiGroup's products include Flexirent, a consumer lease; Flexi Commercial, a small business lease; and Certegy, an interest-free consumer finance package.Last year it bought Lombard Finance, a card-based business that offers consumer finance with an interest-free period.Once Credit's main product is a Visa credit card distributed through retailers. Like Lombard, Once offers interest-free periods with purchases.FlexiGroup's chief executive, Tarek Robbiati, said in a statement that Once was an attractive proposition because it had a leading credit card origination platform, a strong management team and relationships with 800 merchants.Robbiati said: "Once Credit provides FlexiGroup with the necessary scale to accelerate growth in the interest-free credit card market."The acquisition will be funded by an underwritten equity placement.