Sharechat Logo

Dorchester agrees to buy EC Credit for $18.5M in cash, stock and earn-outs

Friday 28th September 2012

Text too small?

Dorchester Pacific, which avoided failure in 2010 by convincing investors to accept a debt-for-equity swap, has agreed to buy debt collection company EC Credit Control from its owner-manager for $18.5 million in cash, stock and earn-outs.

The deal will be paid with 60 percent cash and 40 percent Dorchester shares, with about $8 million of the total determined by earn-outs over two years, the Auckland-based company said in a statement today.

The acquisition would contribute to profit in the second half and ensure Dorchester posts a profit of at least $1 million in the 12 months ended March 31, 2013, chief executive Paul Byrnes said. With trading continuing to improve at Dorchester Finance and its insurance business, profit in the next full financial year may be $4 million to $5 million, he said.

Napier-based EC Credit is owned and managed by Matthew Harrison, was started in 1989 and has grown into the nation's largest privately owned debt recovery business, with growing operations in Australia. It employs about 100 staff and specializes in the corporate and SMR markets.

The sale is subject to approval by shareholders at a special meeting set for late October.

Shares of Dorchester rose 12.5 percent to 18 cents and have surged 88 percent this year.

BusinessDesk.co.nz



  General Finance Advertising    

Comments from our readers

No comments yet

Add your comment:
Your name:
Your email:
Not displayed to the public
Comment:
Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved.

Related News:

Dorchester lifts Turners Auctions stake to 19.85%; no plans to make offer
Dorchester raises $4.1 million in placement supported by major shareholders
Dorchester investors exercise 134 mln options, major shareholders asked to sell down
Dorchester narrows first-half loss, forecasts FY profit
Dorchester rescue plan ups net profit
Dorchester profit boosted by capital reconstruction plan
Dorchester appoints general manager, insurance and lending
Dorchester staves off receivers
Dorchester posts annual loss of $19.1 mill
Dorchester Pacific needs $8 million and investor approval for reconstruction bid